Book Review: Divorce and Gender Equity in Muslim Personal Law by Dr.Kausar Edappagath

Title: DIVORCE AND GENDER EQUITY IN MUSLIM PERSONAL LAW OF INDIA

Author:  Dr Kauser Edappagath

ISBN:  9789351431060

Year:  2014

Format:  Soft Cover

Edition:  1st Edition

Price:  INR 495.00 / US$ 7.57

Publisher; LexisNexis

This is a very effective monograph. The author should be congratulated on the detailed research and study carried out by him. Each of the chapters carries an extensive analysis and should form a platform for further studies in Muslim Personal Law with specific reference to divorce. The author has outlined the present legal status as it appears in day to day life and related it to the individual’s function. The monograph not only entails detailed analytical research on various forms of divorce but also delves on the consequential aspects which affect Muslim Civil Society in the concerned legal procedures. The monograph should be a reference for lawyers social activists and affected individuals since it is the product of a considerable amount of field  work which has in turn been related to the existing laws as practiced in our country.

It has been a privilege to review this monograph and I would recommend it abundantly for publication and to be part of a library which will carry other monographs on Muslim Personal Law.

While agreeing with the author that codification is essential as a way forward for a modern interpretation of Muslim Personal Law, I would unhesitatingly state that the final legal document of divorce should emanate from the judiciary of this country, which thought would make this monograph essential to the judiciary which is placed in a position to interpret the Muslim Personal Law.

I would state that gender justice for Muslim women has been a boiling pot in the present day and I would differ with the author that divorce through Court would be against the very principle of the law of shariat. As a matter of fact, when there is a demand for reassessment of Shariah Law it is more than appropriate for modern Muslim civil society to consider the judiciary as its savior, since the judiciary offers a lot more space for Muslim women / weaker parties to negotiate their rights in the framework of equality.

Member, Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly

Founder member of Movement for Empowerment of Muslim Indians