Property Rights of Muslim Women in The Medieval Time

Property Rights of
Muslim Women in Medieval India
INDEX
S. No. Title Page No.

1 Abstract 3
2 Research Methodology 3
3 Introduction 4
4 Content 4-7
5 Conclusion 7
ABSTRACT
This research paper seeks to look into Muslim women's property rights under their personal laws,
as prevalent in the medieval times with special emphasis to the Mughal period.
It also makes an effort to highlight the inequality between women belonging from different
communities within Islam.
Women's general living conditions, financial stability and physical safety are what determine
their entitlement to control and access over property. Lower life expectancy, literacy, and per
capita income are all associated with gender discrimination. Deep-seated cultural prejudice
towards women is the root cause of the issue of gender inequality.
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
This project has been completed by secondary form of research wherein content was derived
from websites and books.
INTRODUCTION
Although Islam introduced numerous reforms that enhanced the status of women, its holy books
also contained the most stringent rules for women's behavior, from which even the slightest
departure was regarded as unreligious. The situation of women weakened as a result of this
rigidity and the ulemas' indifference.
Women's property rights have been acknowledged as a crucial factor for growth. Women's
property rights may have an impact on their ability to make decisions, pool their money, make
purchases, and generally play a part and hold a place in the community. In the event that her
household disintegrates, land is another essential resource for a woman, such as in the case of a
husband's abandonment, divorce, polygamous relationships, illness, or death.
CONTENT
THE ROLE OF RELIGION

According to Islam, women must not be subjected to any type of mistreatment or societal
injustice based on their gender. Islam condemns any kind of discrimination based on gender in
the social interactions between men and women. It suggests that Islam condemns bias against
both genders as well as prejudice towards girls and boys. Both Men and women must be treated
fairly in the home and within the social system.
It is plainly obvious from the Qur'an and Prophetic traditions that a woman's financial assistance
belongs to her husband, even if she earns a sizable income and is able to take care of herself. She
is entitled to expect her husband to meet her financial needs, and he has a duty to do so.
FINANCIAL INDEPENDENCE
Popular opinion, if not substantial scholarship, upholds the idea that women's status in mediaeval
Islamic society was incredibly dismal. Women were confined in harems and prohibited from
leading public lives or engaging in economic activity.
1
A share of the daughter's natal property is given to her as well under Shariah law, albeit
occasionally this has happened by joint rights to the property, under which scenario the rights
weren’t very clearly recognized.
Corroboration in this case demonstrates women exercising their inheritance rights. Women have
petitioned the court to bring cases in some instances when the entitlement has been refused. It is
also acknowledged that wives receive a share of their husbands' estates. In one instance, the
widow received the entire estate that the husband had personally purchased during the Mughal
era.
Islamic tradition mandates mehr as a prerequisite for marriage. The autobiography by
Banarasidas, Ardhakathanak, which was published during the reign of the Mughal dynasty,
provides tangible proof of mehr. The mehr comes in two varieties: Mu'jjal and Mu'ajjal. The
latter is paid later and frequently in instalments, but it is marked with demand (indu"tlalab) that it
is anticipated to be paid at the time of demand. The former is fully paid at the occasion of the
wedding ceremony.
2
There is proof that women members of the Mughal empire received gifts of real estate. To
prevent some male family members from encroaching on the possessions of daughters as well as
other women, a bestowal document (tamlik nama) was drafted. Mothers have been known to
leave their whole estates to a kid or a few family members. She might have done this to protect
her lone daughter from the children of her husband's other wives infringing on her rights.
Women were not just granted ownership; there are several instances of female entrepreneurs
selling their land as well as other types of property, demonstrating that they also held power over
land in the Medieval Era. However, as academic Bilgrami Rafat notes in his writings on Muslim
women's property rights in Mughal India, “this was mostly accomplished through the assistance
of a wakil or any other male relative.” Even when submitting a complaint with the court, women
were typically represented by wakils; nevertheless, if their rights had been violated, they might
bring the case themselves.
1
Yasmin Angbin, “Middle-class women in Mughal India”, Proceedings of the Indian History
Congress, Vol. 75, Platinum Jubilee (2014), pp.295-306.
2
Bilgrami Rafat, “Property Rights of Muslim Women in Mughal India”, Proceedings of the
Indian History Congress, Vol. 48 (1987), pp. 261-270.
COMPARISON WITH HINDU WOMEN
3
A Muslim lady had a legal claim to a portion of an inheritance with the only authority to dispose
of it. She kept the right after marriage, unlike her Hindu sister. A further protection for Muslim
women was the mehr, or entente nuptial settlement, whereas a Hindu woman had no claim to her
husband's parents' property. In addition to movable property like jewellery, jewels, and other
items, a Hindu woman was just granted the right to maintenance and housing costs. Women were
thus confined to a condition of dependence in every aspect of life from a legal standpoint.
AKBAR’S CONTRIBUTION
The status and power of the women in Akbar's life were significantly impacted by certain
problematic legacies that he inherited.
These matriarchs' lives undoubtedly had an impact on some of the regulations addressing the
position of women that Akbar created early in his reign. He urged widows to remarry and was
perplexed by the stigmatisation of widowed and divorced women in India because Khanzada
Begum, a twice-divorced woman who was nevertheless well regarded, stood before him as a
shining example.
He was also outspoken in his criticism of the son-favoring inheritance laws of Islam. For an
Islamic ruler in the 16th century, Akbar was ahead of his time in the treatment of women.
IMPACT ON MODERN ERA

In India, the transfer of property is significantly influenced by religion. The religious scriptures
have a major influence on the personal laws of religious communities. The rule of succession
was largely uncodified and applied in accordance with local customs throughout the earlier time.
Governments began to codify the norms of succession as society advanced toward civilization.
The codification was largely based on the prevailing customs. As a result, there is no
standardization of succession laws. But the creation of succession rules is heavily influenced by
religion. The distinct succession laws that are codified for each religion disregarded women and
gave them a lower status.
India is a heterogeneous and multireligious country, and article III of the constitution guarantees
that all citizens, irrespective of gender, caste, religion, or race, have the opportunity to fully
develop. Despite constitutional guarantees, the conservative outlook of the religious order has
kept Muslim women's status unchanged. Since Muslim women are still subject to Islamic law,
they are unable to take advantage of the different welfare provisions. Islam's tenets, which date
3
Bano, Shadab. “WOMEN AND PROPERTY IN MUGHAL INDIA.” Proceedings of the
Indian History Congress 68 (2007): 406–15.
back millennia, still hold true in a number of situations involving polygamy, divorce, and
marriage.
“Though Islam as revealed to the prophet Mohammed is not oppressive to women its
interpretation enacted in the family law, and everyday living is patriarchal. The property
rights of Muslim women differ from other religions as it is based on the Islamic Law of
Succession on the tenets of Holy Quran.”
CONCLUSION
Women's status and position are determined by outdated norms and patriarchal social structures
in every society, where they are disregarded and seen as inferior to men. In Muslim families, it is
common for women to be refused their rights, particularly when the issue of how the deceased's
heirs should be distributed their inheritance comes up.
As history has long demonstrated, the sociocultural heritage has had a negative impact on the
advancement of female empowerment in our contemporary day, in all spheres of their existence
and particularly in the areas of acquiring inherited property ownership. Similar views that
women are incapable of holding property and disposing it according to their will still exist in
modern Islamic societies. Most women do not receive their fair share after the passing of their
parents. Women are frequently coerced and emotionally blackmailed into giving their belongings
to their siblings. Women are discouraged from inheriting property due to traditional conventions
and sociocultural systems.

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Property Rights of

Muslim Women in Medieval India

S. No. Title Page No.

THE ROLE OF RELIGION

IMPACT ON MODERN ERA

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