The first batch, says the BMMA, which started Aurton ki Shariah Adalat a few years ago, will be out by the end of this year, bringing out 30 women qazis. "The idea is to churn out women qazis who understand women's issues.
Bharatiya Muslim Mahila Andolan (BMMA), a feminist group fighting for equal rights for women, has come up with a Darul Uloom Niswaan, a centre for Islamic learning and theology that will churn out women qazis who can solemnise marriages. As of now, one woman qazi has been reported to be solemnising marriages in West Bengal. The organisation said that as per its understanding, the centre is one of its kind in India.
The first batch, says the BMMA, which started Aurton ki Shariah Adalat a few years ago, will be out by the end of this year, bringing out 30 women qazis. "The idea is to churn out women qazis who understand women's issues.
During our Shariah Adalat, we see that there are a number of issues — underage girl, her rights during the wedding ceremony, like the Mehr, etc — a woman would have addressed better if she had been solemnising the marriage," said Noorjehan Safia Niaz, founder of BMMA.
The sessions for training women to be qazis were started in Mumbai and Jaipur in December 2015.
"The training programme in Jaipur is the first in the series of sessions planned for a year which will include learnings on theology, history of Islam, Constitution of India, principles and values of Islam, and schools of jurisprudence among other topics. Further training modules through the year will focus on other important topics, namely gender equality in Islam and family laws on other countries," added Niaz.
Reacting to stories that two women from her organisation have already become qazis in Jaipur, Niaz said, "They are from our organisation, but either they were misquoted or did not know that they shouldn't have announced something that's not yet a reality. The course has just started and our first batch will be out by year-end."
The organisation through an email on Monday had informed the media about starting its centre.
However, maulana Hakim Mehmood Dariyabadi, general secretary of the All-India Ulema Council, said, "Islam has a certain structure in which women can't become qazis. If these women have acquired a degree in Islamic Studies, at the most, they can issue a fatwa."
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
)
)
)
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}