The national seminar on the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) organised by the Communist Party of India (Marxist) at Kerala’s Kozhikode on Saturday, July 15, saw negligible participation of women, particularly Muslim women. Of the three women who were present on stage at the seminar, none were Muslim. Kadeeja Mumthaz, writer and chairperson of the Forum for Muslim Women’s Gender Justice, was invited by the CPI(M) to the seminar, but she chose to stay away.
The Forum works towards reforms in Muslim personal laws to ensure that the rights of women in the community, especially with regard to inheritance and property, are protected. Arguing that laws on women’s inheritance in the Muslim community violate constitutional principles, the Forum advocates for reforms in personal laws instead of a unified civil code.
TNM spoke to Kadeeja about her decision to not participate in the seminar and the reasons behind the low turnout of Muslim women. Excerpts from the interview follow
You attended the organising committee meeting for the seminar, but you were absent from the actual seminar that took place on July 15. What made you decide to not attend the seminar?
I was mainly invited to the seminar on July 15, and was invited to attend the organising committee meeting before that. I attended the organising committee meeting because the forum that I am part of works towards bringing laws that acknowledge the rights of Muslim women and raise awareness about the need for personal law reforms.
The subject of UCC is closely tied to the rights of Muslim women. For this reason, a seminar that discusses the UCC should also involve discussions about women’s rights and personal law reforms. Moreover, a seminar should involve in-depth discussions on a subject and not be reduced to a public meeting. I had been expecting a serious seminar of that sort. The time is apt now to raise the issue of women’s rights within personal laws. I attended the organising committee meeting to share these views. But I understood from their response that it would not be a seminar like that. It was to be a public meeting where everyone jointly opposed the UCC. Beyond that, the subject of women’s rights did not come up.
The Left is taking an anti-fascist, anti-Hindutva-agenda stand. But when discussing this issue, two points that should be considered with equal importance are: our demand that it is not a UCC but personal law reforms that are needed, and that the 21st Law Commission’s report must be implemented.
There was not a single Muslim woman speaker at the seminar. Not even CPI(M)’s own Kanathil Jameela or PK Zainaba were present on stage. The only woman speaker, PK Sreemathy, told TNM that she spoke last because invited guests were given the chance to go first. What is the issue here — is the party trying to appease Samastha leaders, or is it the party’s inherent misogyny?
That you may interpret however you like. They [CPI(M)] gave prominence to politically influential people. Women’s voices have not been heard as a unique voice until now. This issue of the UCC, which Modi claims to be aimed to liberate the Muslim woman, demanded the presence of a woman speaker.
The implementation of the UCC is likely to strengthen the misogyny in all religions, which is why representation from tribal groups, Dalit organisations, and Christian factions were all invited. Along with that, the presence of Muslim women, and not just any Muslim, is also required.
The party itself has the presence of Muslim women. When has any woman been given any representation on a political stage? The state Women’s Commission chair P Sathidevi was made to sit in a corner in the back row on stage. Women don’t have a seat in any political space in general. The same can be observed with the United Democratic Front (UDF) as well.
The Muslim women in the audience were mostly from party families. They spoke to TNM about the need to protect their religious rights and were not particularly concerned about the need for reform in personal laws. What is wrong with the CPI(M)’s approach to the issue in your opinion?
A large section of Muslim women, even the educated ones, have not gone into the depth of the issue that is UCC. The party members are speaking according to the party’s decision. For similar reasons, there are even Muslim women who support the UCC. A large section of Muslim middle-class women in Kerala are still largely unaware of the political climate in India. Due to this, they make statements like, “What could go wrong with the UCC, let it come”.
Bringing these different factions together, and helping them understand the issues involved will require effort, but political parties and social organisations have the responsibility to put in that effort.