PK Noorbina Rasheed, national general secretary of the Indian Union Women’s League (IUWL), has requested that no alterations be done to Muslim personal law that will be in conflict with Islamic/ Sharia Law by the Department-related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Personnel, Public Grievances, Law and Justice, which was formed to review personal laws in the country.
IUWL is the women’s wing of the Kerala-based Indian Union Muslim League.
The IUWL leader stated in a memorandum to Deputy Secretary Goutam Kumar attached to the Rajya Sabha Secretariat that Muslim personal law was promulgated and maintained to allow Muslims to follow the teachings of the Quran. Personal laws based on religion, faith, and belief were enacted in accordance with the Indian Constitution for a specific class or group of people, she added.
Everyone in India belongs to different castes and religions, each with its own faiths and belief systems based on religious scriptures. According to Noorbina Rasheed, Muslims’ faiths and belief systems are based on the Quran and Sunnah.
The subject ‘Review of Personal Laws’ has been identified for detailed examination by the Department-related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Personnel, Public Grievances, Law, and Justice, chaired by Sushil Kumar Modi. The Committee has invited memoranda having thoughts and suggestions from relevant parties interested in the subject in order to have a broader consultation. Following an examination, the Committee will recommend to the government various statutory and non-statutory reforms in personal and family laws that are followed by the country’s various religious and social groups.
“The Committee is deliberating on various issues pertaining to personal laws in India and inter alia exploring the possibility of codifying different personal laws with a view to responding to the demands of social change and stamping out discriminatory practices that have crept into these laws,” the press release issued by the committee reads.