FREEDOM OF CHOICE: A DREAM TO MUSLIM WOMEN

Interfaith marriages have always been an issue of concern, it just boils up our society up to an extent where nominalizing the situation seems a far-fetched dream. Even though everyone vouches for revolutionary steps, people become reluctant in providing someone with what they deserve because everybody owns their lives and should do what they feel like.

The marriage of a Muslim woman to a non-Muslim man is one of the main taboo issues in debates on Islam. Polytheism is the belief in many gods, it implies that you have a bunch of gods to thank or blame. The Quran prohibits the marriage of both Muslim men and women to polytheists, even Muslim scholars agree unanimously on the prohibition of the marriage of a Muslim woman to a Jewish or Christian, while no part of the Quran justifies this kind of discrimination.

 In 2018, in Shafin Jahan vs Asokan, KM, Hadiya also known as Akhila and her husband Safin Jahan were recognized to be in a valid Muslim marriage if- both were of the age of puberty; if there were an offer and acceptance in the presence of two witnesses; if ‘Mahr was given’; and there was an absence of a prohibited degree of relationship. Through this judgment, it was deciphered that as both were a 16-year-old girl and 24-year-olds who professed Islam, a had attained puberty, and there were an offer and an acceptance,‘mahr’ was given and taken and a nikahnama was drawn with the consent of the girl and the boy, their marriage was indeed valid. Though the girl’s father had lodged a police complaint alleging that the man had kidnapped his daughter but the girl stated otherwise. The marriage took place out of mutual consent and that there was no pressure of her to marry him and whatever she did was out of her own free will, but because her age was regarded as tender the Kerala High Court annulled the marriage. However, the case was taken up by the Supreme Court which stated the whole process as unconstitutional. Advocate Parashar also said that the right to choose a life partner was a constitutionally guaranteed right. He also said that a girl’s father was interfering with her right to live with her life partner, whom she had chosen after attaining puberty and married through a valid nikahnama. It was observed that even though she was regarded as a minor she was sane enough to take her own decisions because she knew what was wrong and right for her, even if that included converting herself into a different religion for the sake of being with her partner.

In conclusion, the question raised today is that can we really categorize people according to their religion and faith? We should not recognize a person to be a Muslin, Hindu, Jew, Christian or to be of any other religion when it comes to taking decisions that include personal interest. We all our citizens of the same country and so, it is us who should promote diversity because we have been privileged enough to be able to witness a variety of people, with different thought processes and backgrounds. It is surreal to think that we have access to so much of history and instead of promoting that, we are busy practicing discrimination. Alliance, equality, support, respect, and feeling of togetherness should prevail. We are here to build a family and live together to make each other better versions of ourselves. There is no harm in giving someone the liberty to make their own decisions; no one should feel restricted while living a life by their choice.

SUBMITTED BY-

ARPITA VARMA

STUDENT REPORTER, INBA.