Muslim Women’s Forum - New Delhi

Despite the considerable progress achieved by women all over the world, Muslim women in India continue to lag far behind in education and workforce participation. Statistical evidence from surveys, news reports as well as research studies from the last six decades (such as the Towards Equality: Status of Women report 1975, the Gopal Singh Report 1983, the Sachar Committee Report 2006 and Pam Rajput Report 2016) show that there has been very little improvement in human development of masses of Muslim women.

Historically, all women cutting across the religious divide in Indian society have remained deprived of their legitimate rights. This is doubly so in the case of Muslim women as they not only share the general backwardness of the women but also suffer because of the misinterpretation of personal laws, which gives unbridled power to males. Consequently, many of them are unable to make their full contribution to the social, political and economic life of the community. 

There are a substantial number of Muslim women who are victims of outmoded and pernicious practices which are the distortions of the Shariat. These practices are often antithetical to the spirit and injunctions of the Holy Quran. They are the consequences of the hegemony of males who wish to dominate and of the women’s ignorance of their rights under their own religion.

The problems of Muslim women are multi-dimensional and need to be tackled on many fronts. The root causes of their misery are abject poverty and lack of education. The empowerment of Muslim women cannot be achieved unless the legal reform and political empowerment also encompass a comprehensive scheme for their educational upliftment and economic self-reliance.   

Over the last 18 years, Muslim Women Forum has been acting as an active lobby group for obtaining for Muslim women all their legitimate rights enshrined in the Quran and the Shariat. It believes that it is imperative that Muslim women participate in all discussions that have a direct and proximate bearing on their lives and destinies and freedom to exercise their rights. The Forum thus mobilizes women to break the silence of centuries and raise their voices to demand their rights under Islam and as citizens of India.  

There are well organized and articulate Muslim women’s groups in different parts of the country. The Forum hopes to coordinate their work so that their collective voices could be carried in unison to the highest level.