Muslim Women: From the Margins to the Mainstream of …paperroom.ipsa.org/papers/paper_9781.pdf · From the Margins to the Mainstream of Indian Democracy ... triple marginalization

Muslim Women: From the Margins to the Mainstream of Indian Democracy

Vasu Mohan & Dr. Suraiya Tabassum

International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES)

June 2012

Abstract1 This paper investigates the triple marginalization of Muslim women in India - as women, as members of a religious minority, and as individuals living in poverty. It discusses solutions modeled by the Muslim Women’s Initiative (MWI) a pilot program involving five organizations in two states of India. MWI aimed to bring Muslim women closer to the Indian democratic mainstream, decreasing their isolation as a marginalized group within a religious minority. Under MWI, over 30,000 women & men, boys and girls learned about women’s rights in the Qur’an and Indian Law, thousands formed women’s support groups, and hundreds of community leaders - religious leaders, academicians, activists and lawyers, lent their support to women's empowerment. MWI groups began experiencing success in accessing justice and service delivery systems, with direct impact on their daily lives. They also launched income generation activities. Many women campaigned and ran for office attaining positions of political leadership. MWI used a unique, holistic approach, linking principles rooted in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights with personal ethical and religious values, ensuring that the process of empowerment could genuinely take root in both individuals and their communities. The paper concludes that MWI not only decreased marginalization of Muslim women by empowering them but also by impacted the way they are perceived by the broader society, the corporate sector and the state.

                                                                                                                         1 Elements of this paper are drawn from Mohan, V. and Tabassum, S. “Inclusion of Muslim Women in Indian Democratic Processes and Structures” (IDEA, forthcoming 2012). The paper is based on a program implemented by the authors from 2004-2011. 2 (Sen 1999: 1). 3 Despite making up over 13% of the population, the representation of Muslims in the national legislature since partition has hovered around 5% (Bhargava 2007: 8).

Vasu Mohan

Vasu Mohan has worked on democracy, governance and human rights issues in Asia for the past 15 years with a specific focus on political, social and legal empowerment of the disenfranchised – youth, women, ethnic minorities and people with disabilities. He has been with the International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES) since 2001 and has supervised programs and field offices in Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Cambodia, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Solomon Islands, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Timor Leste. Mohan managed IFES’ India portfolio and worked closely with Dr. Tabassum and other colleagues in the design and implementation of IFES’ Women’s Legal Rights Initiative in India of which the Muslim Women’s Initiative was a key component. He currently serves as Deputy Director for IFES' Europe & Asia program.

Dr. Suraiya Tabassum Dr. Suraiya Tabassum is a researcher, activist, trainer and writer on women’s rights issues. Since receiving her Doctorate in Women’s Studies in 2001, she has been working on the issue of Indian Muslim women’s exclusion and inclusion through research and advocacy. Since May 2004, Dr. Tabassum worked as a technical advisor with IFES’s Women’s Legal Rights Initiative in India, where she headed the Muslim Women’s Initiative. Along with the IFES team, she conceptualized, designed, and implemented this path-breaking project. She has received awards and recognition for her work to empower Muslim women.

The authors wish to thank Katherine Ellena for her support in editing this document.

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Muslim Women on the Margins When there is an accumulation of disadvantages -- women in lower-class families, possibly from lower castes and possibly from a backward region -- you get a dreadful situation. [You need to] understand all the root causes of deprivation, rather than just concentrate on one.2

- Amartya Sen Muslim dynasties ruled large parts of the Indian subcontinent for close to a thousand years, with the Mughal Empire controlling most of the subcontinent at the height of its power in the 17th and 18th centuries, until colonization by the British. In the 20th century, the process of independence and partition, with all the violence associated with it, defined the modern history of Muslims in India. The majority of Muslims of the subcontinent stayed in India after partition from Pakistan, but many who remained believed they were only safe among members of their own community (Metcalf and Metcalf 2002: 218). This led to the isolation of Muslims in many parts of India. Gradually, discrimination, social stagnation and economic and educational deprivation resulted in the backwardness and marginalization of Muslims in large parts of the country. Eighty-four per cent of Muslims live on less than 50 cents a day (Indian National Commission for Enterprises in the Unorganized Sector 2007: 2). The share of Muslims in government services and other sectors also dropped drastically after partition (Action Aid 2006: 1), and political representation of Muslims in India remains poor.3 The development of democracy in India after independence did not engender peace and development for Muslims. Rather, communal, vote-bank politicking exacerbated differences between Hindus and Muslims. Religious violence reared its ugly head most notably in 1992 following the destruction of the Babri Masjid, and again in Gujarat in 2002, with enormous loss of life and property. Communal riots demoralized Muslims and resulted in the entrenchment of a pre-existing siege mentality (Action Aid 2006: 1). One of the effects of this has been the tendency of Muslim leaders to restrict women’s rights – in the name of protection. It has also led to further ghettoization of Muslims, isolating the community – and its women in particular – from the mainstream. Muslim females in India number more than 71 million (over seven per cent of the population) (Census of India 2011), and are disadvantaged thrice over in Indian society: as women, as members of a minority community, and as individuals in poverty. Sixty per cent of Muslim women are married before the legal age of 18, over 50 per cent are illiterate and over 75 per cent report that they need permission from their husbands for virtually every activity related to their personal, social, familial or health concerns (Hasan and Menon 2004: 76-77, 237). Many do not realize they have rights, or that their own religion accords them rights. They are not connected to other women in an empowering framework. They live in a cycle that is difficult to break: poverty and isolation leads to poor health and education, which are barriers in gaining the skills and knowledge necessary to emerge from poverty. The isolation of the Muslim community, along with its attitudes to education, has affected the ability of Muslim women in India to be represented in mainstream public life. In recent years only two Muslim women were members of                                                                                                                          2 (Sen 1999: 1). 3 Despite making up over 13% of the population, the representation of Muslims in the national legislature since partition has hovered around 5% (Bhargava 2007: 8).

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the Indian Parliament (Rai 2002, 3) out of a total 790 seats (i.e. less than half a per cent). The ghettoization of Muslims had deprived them further of government infrastructure such as schools, roads, garbage disposal and sewerage facilities and health centres (Action Aid 2006: 5).

While affirmative action programmes for deprived groups exist in India, historically this has not extended to Muslims, and this is one of the reasons for the lack of progress in education for Muslims (de Haan 2011: 17). Arjan de Haan has argued that reservation policies

are based on too-broad categories indicating collective deprivation of communities, and that some communities - notably Muslims - are wrongly excluded from affirmative action… [In addition,] the application of preferential policies has seen a continuous expansion of entitlements, thus weakening a focus on the most marginalized groups, and arguably diluting the focus on the causes of their marginalization… Policies need to be sensitive to the nature of exclusion, and ensure safeguards against informal mechanisms of discrimination are an integral part of policy implementation (de Haan 2011: 17-18).

The 2005 Government of India Sachar Report,4 which looked at the social, educational, and economic status of Muslims in India, found that both civil society and government blame the religious community for the position of Muslim women, rather than societal discrimination or faulty development policies (Sachar Report 2006: 12-13). However, there has since been more evidence of political will to address development issues of Muslims, specifically Muslim women. In its 11th Five Year Plan for 2007-2012, the Indian Government’s Planning Commission specifically recognized the “double deprivation” of Muslim women and recommended targeted interventions for Muslim women as a priority area of action (Government of India Planning Commission 2007: 20). Democracy and Marginalization The impact of Muslim women’s isolation in society is damaging to Indian democracy. In India the socio-economic status of a community and participation in political life are inter-linked (Action Aid: 6), and as the Sachar Report has noted, “in a pluralistic society a reasonable representation of various communities in government sector employment is necessary to enhance participatory governance” (Sachar Report 2006: 163). At a fundamental level, while Muslim women may have the same political and legal rights as the rest of the population, they are unable to exercise them properly (Bhargava 2007: 9). Without the full participation of women in social and governance structures, socio-economic development is severely depressed. Beyond this, with such a significant portion of the community marginalized, it becomes vulnerable to the growth of anti-national and extremist ideologies. At a relatively benign level, this can lead to a perception among the Muslim community that mainstream political processes and institutions are not delivering for the marginalized, and many can lose faith in mainstream structures and political processes. On a more malignant level, it can lead to extremist violence.                                                                                                                          4 Government of India, Social, Economic and Educational Status of the Muslim Community: A Report, commonly referred to as the ‘Sachar Report,’ is named for the former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, Justice Rajinder Sachar, who headed the committee.

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Discontent within the Muslim community as to their own backwardness and marginalization has generally been expressed either as apathy and lethargy or protest and violence. Both responses reinforce a negative spiral leading to the further isolation of the community and its most vulnerable members. Apathy and lethargy perpetuates existing community practices that are stifling growth and development, and breeds a passive acceptance of the status quo. Protest and violence can inflame existing anti-Muslim prejudices among right-wing groups and reinforces an existing siege mentality, threatening the community and further cutting it off from mainstream support structures. Analysts also argue that vote-bank politicking leads to Hindu-Muslim electoral polarization and reinforces the marginalization of Muslims. It has been suggested that this kind of vote bank mentality suits some Muslim leaders, allowing them and various middlemen to bargain with political parties on behalf of a collective vote while in reality Indian Muslims espouse a range of political opinions. Vote-bank politicking is a threat to the plurality of the Indian political system and weakens the ability of Muslims to engage in the system in a meaningful way. This is particularly so for Muslim women given their weak status. Ultimately this is a threat to democracy, as individuals feel disempowered from having an individual stake in the democratic process and access to government services. With this context in mind, the International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES) and its Indian civil society partners designed the Muslim Women’s Initiative (MWI), which examined one model to arrest the negative cycle of marginalization of Muslim women. MWI ran for seven years from 2004 to 2011 and employed a variety of top-down and bottom-up activities to draw Muslim women in India closer to the democratic mainstream. The initiative recognized that targeted interventions were needed to empower Muslim women and draw them back from the margins of society. At the same time, these interventions needed to be sensitive in their approach to ensure they did not reinforce constructed identities or stereotypes. The aim was not to empower Muslim women in isolation, but within the context of the wider democratic society. This meant engaging women as individuals with unique perspectives and capabilities, and applying those capabilities within existing community and societal structures through the provision of information, access and support. On the other side of the coin, it also led to the sensitization of those in the mainstream toward Muslim women, challenging perceptions of backwardness and victimhood. The Muslim Women’s Initiative At its core, the Muslim Women’s Initiative focussed on addressing the significant knowledge gap among Muslim women (and their families and communities) about their rights in the Qur’an and under Indian law, and supporting them in accessing these rights. There is a general misperception both in and outside the Muslim community that gender inequity is inbuilt in Islam and that the gender disparity seen in many Muslim societies is a result of the religion itself. In fact, many of the restrictions placed on Indian Muslim women are rooted in social customs and traditions that are legitimized in the name of Shariah, and are not rooted in religious teachings. The Initiative worked on building meaningful and sustainable community-based support for Muslim women that included self-help and income generation projects. MWI also developed leadership skills among Muslim women and introduced them to mainstream democratic processes and support systems. Many within the Muslim community, broader civil society and

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government in India have tried with varying degrees of success in the past to implement empowerment programs within marginalized Muslim communities, but not to this depth or scale. Increasing Awareness (Top-Down) The Muslim Women’s Initiative, implemented by IFES’ partner organizations in India, consisted of multiple layers of intervention and was implemented in phases. It began with a consultative conference involving Muslim community leaders, held in partnership with a well-renowned academic institution in New Delhi, who recommended implementing an initiative aimed at Muslim women’s empowerment at the grassroots level, undertaken through local non-governmental organization (NGO) partners. IFES selected local NGO partners to work in villages and urban slums in Karnataka and Rajasthan (states chosen by USAID, the funder of the project), who were already working to improve health, education and other issues among local Muslim communities.5 During the first month of the project, local partners held meetings with community leaders (predominantly male), i.e., maulavis (Muslim clergymen who lead prayers and look after mosque affairs), ulema (religious scholars), academicians, activists and lawyers to explain the fundamental need that the program sought to address, and to seek their support. These meetings were useful in creating a favourable climate for the program. This was step one.

                                                                                                                         5 Local partners included Gharib Nawaz Mahila Avam Bal Kalyan Samiti (GNS) in Ajmer, Rajasthan; Group for Urban and Rural Development (GUARD) in Mysore, Karnataka; SABALA in Bijapur, Karnataka; Spurthi Mahila Mandal (SMM) in Bijapur, Karnataka; Visthar in Bangalore, Karnataka; Ms. Nishat Hussain in Jaipur, Rajasthan; Ms. Nusrat Rehman in Ajmer, Ranjasthan; Ms. Rashida Bano in Jodhpur, Rajasthan; and Ms.Isabella Selveraj Xavier in Dharwad, Karnataka.

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The next phase consisted of information dissemination. Two-day awareness workshops for women and men were at the heart of this phase. The content of the workshops was organized and presented in two key categories: the rights of women enshrined in the Qur’an and the rights of women protected by Indian law. Importantly, there were commonalities between both (see Annex I). The workshop went into detail on the rights of Muslim women in regard to key issues, including: consent to marriage; the payment of mehr (a payment to a bride by her husband as a symbol of his earnestness of affection); dowry; dissolution of marriage and divorce; responsibilities of a husband under the Qur’an; and rights of property ownership and inheritance. The underlying message was that the Qur’an considers men and women as equal, and that this equality was protected under Indian law. Posters and brochures were used to reinforce verbal information delivery.

Engagement with participants during the workshops provided IFES’ partners rare insights into family situations. A majority of Muslim women in these communities felt they did not have a voice in decision-making at the family level, let alone at a social or political level. There was also a general, pervasive feeling (among both men and women) that girls only needed religious education and should be married early. Girls were therefore not allowed to pursue higher education.6 A number of Muslim women brought experiences of domestic violence out into the open and requested legal support. In response, after significant discussions with stakeholders, IFES partners established counselling centres with teams made up of a counsellor, a lawyer and a                                                                                                                          6 The Sachar Report 2006 found that another reason for pulling girls out of school was fears for their security after any incident of communal violence had occurred, p.16. The report also pointed to non-availability of schools near girls’ homes, absence of female teaches, and non-availability of girls’ hostels at higher levels of education as reasons for girls dropping out of school early, p. 85.

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social worker. Partners used their existing premises for the counselling centres and have integrated this activity as part of their core work. After the completion of the workshops, ten follow-on gatherings were organized to seek deeper cooperation from community leaders. These meetings focused on the issues that had emerged at the original workshops, what follow-up strategies might be, and action plans to implement these strategies. In each workshop a committee was formed to support the local MWI partner organization. The final component of Phase I consisted of celebratory fairs (kutas in Karnataka and melas in Rajasthan) – a common form of gathering in India. The fairs brought together participants from various workshops along with their family members, community leaders, and resource persons. At one level the kutas and melas were designed to reiterate the content of the workshops – ensuring information retention - and to inform other family members. At another level, they celebrated the solidarity of informed Muslim women, served as a demonstration of collective strength, and marked the culmination of the information dissemination phase of the program. Evolving Community–Based Support Structures (bottom up) The key objective of the second phase of the MWI was to evolve a community-based support system that would utilise the information that had been disseminated and safeguard Muslim women’s rights. At the core of this phase – and indeed of the whole MWI program – were the women’s groups. These groups emerged out of the information dissemination workshops and began meeting every week. Through these groups it was easy to identify women in need of counselling and legal support and to provide needy women access to a support system. Group members were trained in counselling skills and networking and taken on exposure visits to police stations, courts, counselling centres, banks and shelter homes so that they would be confident in accessing these mainstream services. As the program marched on, women’s groups began thrift and credit activities in addition to rights-based activism. This transition was important for the sustainability of the groups, but was also underscored by a personal, ethics-based framework that encouraged women to retain a primary focus as promoters and protectors of the rights of women. Existing values within the community of service and charity were encouraged, alongside promotion of universal rights. Efforts were made to link groups to banks, so that women could access loans. The women in these groups became peer educators and change agents in their areas, not only supporting the welfare of the women who attended them, but solving local problems, reforming local schools, improving facilities at local hospitals, and applying for welfare schemes. Local partner organizations helped women to acquire basic leadership skills including self-confidence, posing questions to community leaders and government officials, approaching legal aid desks, courts, hospitals and the police and joining vocational skills programs in order to become economically independent.7

                                                                                                                         7 The Sachar Report concluded that Muslim women find that the only safe places are ‘within the boundaries of home and community’ and that such places as police stations, government offices and schools are seen as hostile. However, the Report found that ‘in many meetings women participants emphasized that given appropriate opportunities to work and get educated, they would “manage” all the issues.’ p. 13.

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Beyond developing community support structures, a key challenge in promoting and protecting women’s rights was gaining the support of Muslim religious scholars and teachers, who form the centre of Muslim communities. Orientation programs in community madrasas were organised for scholars and teachers. Program leaders faced some resistance, but were able to communicate that women have a broad canvas of rights that were clearly articulated in the Qur’an and Indian law and that, more importantly, the community was responsible for promoting and protecting these rights. Participants later confirmed the classes had changed their attitude about the conditions facing women in their communities and what the correct response to that should be. An important element leading to this change was that the program recognized the importance of both universal rights protected by Islam, as well as a personal spiritual and ethical framework for responding to those rights. This method of empowerment sought to transform ‘both the head and the heart’ as some women put it. Following the orientation programs, some religious scholars volunteered to be part of the team of people producing course material on women’s rights for schools and madrasas. Course material developed with the assistance of religious scholars and civil society members was provided to schools and madrasas to hold classes on gender equality for students in the 9th and 11th grades. Classes focussed in particular on helping boys change their attitude toward women and girls. It also encouraged them to be agents of change by making them aware of their own capacity to bring about change in their homes and communities. The impact on the students was immediately visible. Boys helped their sisters exercise their right to education and their right to decide the mehr on the occasion of marriage. During elections they convinced their mothers, sisters and other female relatives to exercise their right to vote. Interestingly, teachers later told IFES that the courses had led to discussions between mothers and their children, with mothers asking their children what had been taught each day in the class on women’s rights. The course was so well received it was later introduced in more schools and madrasas at their own initiative. Consolidation of Leadership and Mainstreaming During the final phases of the initiative, local partners worked to strengthen women’s groups, the key to sustained change among Muslim communities in India. Partners facilitated monthly mentoring meetings and taught strategies to protect and promote women's rights. These included taking part in development processes in their areas, approaching banks, counselling centres, and police stations for support, and establishing linkages with other support group members and service agencies. Cases of violence against women were raised, with a focus on implementing strategies to support affected women. Other issues discussed were health, hygiene, sanitation, and education. To further entrench wider support for Muslim women and their families and bring them closer to the democratic mainstream, MWI partners approached relevant government agencies regarding educational opportunities, improved access to health facilities, and enterprises providing livelihood/employment opportunities. As the initiative flourished, it became clear that grass roots leadership was being developed through the work with community-based groups. It was also interesting to observe in some cases that this leadership was not always rooted in principles of democracy, transparency accountability and community-centered approaches that the project was built on. It became clear to MWI partners that addressing these issues and nurturing leadership were going to be critical to the long-term success of the process of empowerment. Through ongoing discussion with women

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groups, awareness grew among all stakeholders of the importance of values, ethics and spiritual perspectives to the empowerment process. IFES determined that a tailored, ‘learning about leadership’ process for women’s groups was imperative. This was a key building bock in the program to ensure Muslim women could transition into leaders who could move themselves and their communities towards the mainstream in India. The goals were: to articulate an alternative framework of good leadership that was community-centred, service-oriented and ethics-based; to initiate a process centred on personal and social transformation; to recognize the defects and limitations in dominant forms of leadership; and to encourage women to become effective agents of development and social justice in the community.

The ‘leadership learning’ focused first on ensuring that women could build their sense of dignity and self-worth, which had been eroded through decades of marginalization and poor education, and on understanding and internalizing the equality of all people. Training then focussed on understanding common models of leadership and their shortfalls, appreciating the necessity to evolve a new vision for leadership and recognizing the value of experience and knowledge that exists within their community and utilizing it. Trainers encouraged the women to approach women’s rights advocacy with an attitude of service and a drive for excellence, and understand that development is not a process that an outside agency performs on a community but something that the community resolves to do itself. This perspective was key to developing an alternative vision of what leadership should mean for a community. It had a direct impact for women who went through the program and were later elected to public office at village and city levels. Once empowered in this manner, women exercised their leadership in a transparent, accountable and community-centered way. For a country that struggles with corruption, this kind of leadership helped to build faith in a community that had become disillusioned with mainstream politics and power structures. As the Institute for Studies in Global Prosperity, partner in the ‘leadership learning’ program noted:

“the human heart cannot be separated from its environment, for the inner life of every human being both molds the environment and is deeply affected by it. Enduring change then depends upon simultaneous efforts to transform both the individual and society.” (Institute for Studies in Global Prosperity: 2010, 75-76).

Outcomes of the Initiative The overall effect of the Muslim Women’s Initiative was the gradual mainstreaming of Muslim women who had previously been marginalized and excluded from democratic processes. Simply learning what rights they had meant that women felt they had the confidence to exercise those rights and help other women to do so. Women’s groups tackled very sensitive and controversial issues among the Muslim community such as polygamy, dowry, triple talaq, and establishing a higher amount of mehr. In some areas, the cooperation of male community leaders in addressing these issues was notable - something that would previously have been unheard of. Because the program also fostered the link between personal development and community development,

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women participants in MWI did not simply see the program as beneficial to their own situation, but actively sought to support other women in their community. As this gradual change started to take place, the wider community in MWI’s geographic areas of operation were impacted. Law enforcement officials and the judiciary (predominantly non-Muslim) began to see these women as individuals who wanted – and were capable of seeking - change, and not just as victims afraid or reluctant to seek justice. Muslim women’s groups were invited to present personal stories and strategies for community reform at mainstream platforms. As Muslim women joined the democratic mainstream, their daughters have begun exercising their right to education, to choose their marriage partners, and to work. One of the key outcomes of MWI was the emergence of Muslim women as leaders or change agents in their communities - leaders who promoted the empowerment and mainstreaming of Muslim women. Women who had previously never left their homes ran for office and were successful. Once elected, they become active leaders in developing their communities and advocating for the basic rights of women within those communities. In essence, they moved from the margins to the mainstream, and sought to bring their communities with them. They also exercised their new leadership roles with transparency, empathy and accountability, a key aim of the ‘leadership learning’ component. MWI groups in Bijapur, Karnataka, saw eight members elected to influential village panchayats (local governance bodies). Nazni Begum, a retired senior citizen, contested and won a seat on the Bangalore Municipal Corporation, and has since secured hundreds of thousands of dollars in government funding for her constituency, which is being allocated in a community-centered, transparent manner. During the municipal elections in Hubli and Dharwad, Karnataka, women’s group members actively campaigned for their candidates of choice. Crucially, all women’s group members voted - and mobilized other women to vote - after learning that voting was a fundamental right and an important way to participate in the democratic process and ensure effective representation. These outcomes are particularly significant in light of Hasan and Menon’s findings that 69 per cent of the Muslim women surveyed around the time IFES was beginning its program were unaware that there were seats reserved for women in panchayat elections and that only 5 per cent had ever participated in a political campaign (Hasan and Menon 2004: 211-212). Women who sought political office were not only helped and encouraged by Muslim men in their own community, but male figures from other communities. This is a testament to the type of leadership role these women are playing, and Muslim men are now encouraging other women in their communities to take part in public life. Some of the male stakeholders in the MWI program are now involved in solving matrimonial dispute cases and providing legal redress for female victims of violence or other crimes. On the political front, men are helping women in their communities contest elections and promoting them through all possible platforms. They are also encouraging women to exercise their right to vote during both local and national elections.

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A Template for Empowerment – Some Lessons Learned For Muslim women in India, resolution of their marginalization requires (1) knowledge, attitude and behavior change to make the equality of women and men a reality; (2) poverty alleviation for the masses of India; and (3) a movement of the marginalized community back toward the democratic mainstream. Several conditions were needed for MWI to be successful. Firstly, it required awareness within the Muslim community (men and women) of the rights and protections afforded by Indian and Islamic law and the responsibilities of the community to uphold those rights. Secondly, it required a willingness by leaders and community-influencers to break out of a perpetual cycle of isolation that had been influenced by an entrenched siege mentality and vote-bank politics. Thirdly, it required the development of tools and structures to enable women to not only be aware of their rights but to exercise them, both within their own community and in the wider mainstream – and to bring the whole community with them in the process. Lastly, it required a reciprocal sensitization process of those in the mainstream, choosing not to see Muslim women as a backward, victimized and monolithic group, but as legitimate actors, stakeholders and leaders in Indian society. Marginalized individuals are negotiating their complicated and often oppressive realities with enormous creativity and resourcefulness, and are capable of being active and inspiring agents of change. Providing individuals with the resources and structures they need to generate sustainable change for themselves is crucial.

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Mainstreaming is more likely to be successful when it is built from demand within a community and seeded within in it, not imposed from outside. In many cases marginalization has occurred through or with the support of powerful social or religious drivers, and there must be a willingness of both leaders and community members to address those drivers. Education and awareness raising builds the confidence needed for greater social and political participation by marginalized groups. Women who are ignorant of their social, legal and religious rights are not equipped to exercise those rights within a mainstream community or wider democratic processes. In this sense, education is not a passive or isolated development activity, but a trigger for social transformation. Empowerment of marginalized communities cannot be successful in isolation. To put it simply, mainstreaming requires engagement in mainstream life, otherwise community development might occur within a marginalized group, but isolation will remain. Critical to this are linkages with mainstream structures and services, and engagement in mainstream political governance structures – in the case of India, at panchayat (local), district, state and national levels. Rights-based education can be a trigger for mainstreaming, but such programs for marginalized Muslim groups must be based on the Qur’an as well as universal declarations and covenants. Rights guaranteed by religion that accord with universal rights serve as a bridge to people’s everyday realities. It also draws on personal spiritual and ethical frameworks. For marginalized Muslim women in India, learning that they had rights under the Qur’an gave them a foundation of confidence that a pure human rights-based awareness-raising activity would not have done. Bringing marginalized religious communities into the democratic mainstream is more likely to be successful when programs draw on religious principles and address any misperceptions or patriarchal interpretations/beliefs within the marginalized group. This is particularly true when misperceptions or misplaced beliefs have contributed to oppression of one segment within the marginalized groups and/or conditions of isolation and marginalization of the entire group. Lastly, in any intervention where the goal is to improve the lives of women and increase their engagement in public life, it is essential not to ignore the other half of the community. The involvement of men in Muslim women’s empowerment programs is particularly critical. Mason and Smith found that established gender norms in a community are a far stronger predictor of women’s empowerment than are individual traits such as age, education, marital age, or economic experience. The implication from this finding is that to empower women, community norms and values about gender relations must be changed, and they must be changed among both women and men (Mason and Smith 2003). Conclusion Muslims make up a significant proportion of the Indian population, and their continued marginalization due to historical conflicts, political and electoral polarization and stereotyping, social and economic stagnation, an entrenched siege mentality and a lack of affirmative action, continues to be a source of concern. The Muslim Women’s Initiative offered one model to arrest the negative cycle of

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marginalization of the Muslim community, and in particular Muslim women. It aimed to bring Muslim women closer to the Indian democratic mainstream, targeting all three conditions of marginalization they faced – as women, as members of a minority and poverty. In particular, it sought to: break down gender systems that prevented women accessing fundamental and equal rights; create support structures that gave women pathways out of poverty; and empower women as individuals within a pluralist society that protects both the practice of their religion and their access to fundamental rights. The Muslim Women’s Initiative not only decreased the marginalization of Muslim women through empowerment, it also impacted the way they were perceived by members of other religious communities, the corporate sector and the state. In this way, the process of mainstreaming became a two-way street, and the resilience of the support structures developed under the program aim to ensure this pathway remains open. And the world’s largest democracy took one step further in living up to its ideals. “We are citizens of a great country on the verge of bold advance, and we have to live up to that high standard. All of us, to whatever religion we may belong, are equally the children of India with equal rights, privileges and obligations. We cannot encourage communalism or narrow-mindedness, for no nation can be great whose people are narrow in thought or in action.”

-  Jawaharlal Nehru, the first Prime Minister of India in a speech made to the Indian Constituent Assembly, on the eve of India's Independence, 1947

_________________________________________________________________ A note on the illustrations: A training program on graphic books / comics - making was organized for 20 women from the Muslim Women’s Initiative program at Bangalore in March 2010 in partnership with Communication for Development and Learning (CDL). In the process of drawing comics based on their experiences, the women shared stories of their real life. The stories highlighted their challenges as well as the achievements and impact of the Muslim Women Initiative. The posters depicting the equality of women and men were designed by IFES and partner organizations and were used widely in the program. The quotations are from the Quran (Sura An Nissa) and the Preamble of the Constitution of India.

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Annex I Selection of Rights of Women in the Holy Qur’an Addressed in MWI

• Right to Education – In the Qur’an, education and learning is mandatory for both men and women.

• Right to Economic independence – The Qur’an has given women the right to independent property ownership, the right to earn money, and the right to invest in real estate or other properties.

• Right to Inheritance – The Qur’an states that both men and women are equally entitled to inherit property, but the portions they get may vary.

• Mehr – Given to the bride as a symbol of the husband’s truthfulness and earnestness of affection. Unless the mehr amount is paid, according to Qur’an, the marriage is not legal.

• Dowry - The concept of dowry is un-Islamic as there is no mention of dowry in the Qur’an. • Divorce – Talaq and Khula: Both men and women can dissolve their marriage. The husband

can do it through talaq and wife through khula. • Maintenance - According to the Qur’an, the husband is bound to maintain the wife during

the marriage in accordance with his means and position in life. The wife has a right to maintenance if she refuses to stay with him due to a lawful cause, such as non-payment of mehr.

• Political rights – The Qur’an states that women have equal rights to participate in public affairs, express views on legislative matters of public interest and argue in support of their opinions. Thus the political rights of women include the right to vote and stand for election to political office.

Selection of Rights of Women under Indian Law Addressed in MWI Constitutional Rights:

• Equality before the law • Prohibition of discrimination for religion, caste, race, sex or place of birth • Equal opportunity in public employment • Protection of certain rights regarding speech and assembly • Protection of life and personal liberty • Protection against arrest and detention • Prohibition of trafficking • Right to freedom of religion • Right to education Relevant Indian laws:

• Child Marriage Restraint Act 1929 • Maintenance u/s125 Cr. P.C. • Muslim Women Act 1986 • Dowry Prohibition Act 1961 and 1986 • Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act 2005

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References and Further Reading Action Aid, Jahangirabad Media Institute and Indian Social Institute, Preliminary Report on the Socio-Economic Condition of the Muslims in India (New Delhi, 2006), <http://www.docstoc.com/docs/44501428/Report-on-the-Socio-Economic-Conditions-of-Muslims-in-India>, accessed 11 September 2011 Bhargava, Rajeev, ‘On the Persistent Political Under-Representation of Muslims in India’, Law & Ethics of Human Rights (2007, Vol. 1 : Iss. 1, Article 4) Census of India, Office of the Registrar General, Tables: Profiles by Main Religions: Muslims (New Delhi: Office of the Registrar General, 2011) De Haan, Arjan, Rescuing exclusion from the poverty debate: group disparities and social transformation in India, ISS Working Paper no 517, March 2011, http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/22626/wp517.pdf, accessed 12 May 2012 Engineer, Asghar Ali, Muslim Women in Indian Society (2007) <http://www.csss-isla.com/arch%2071.htm>, accessed 9 September 2011 Government of India, Social, Economic and Educational Status, of the Muslim Community: A Report (New Delhi: Prime Minister’s High Level Committee, 2006) [Referred to in the text as ‘Sachar Report.’] Government of India Planning Commission, Report of the Steering Committee on Empowerment of Women and Development of Children for the Eleventh Plan (New Delhi: 2007) <http://planningcommission.nic.in/aboutus/committee/strgrp11/str11_wcd.pdf>, accessed 5 November 2011 Hasan, Zoya and Menon, Ritu, Unequal Citizens – A Study of Muslim Women in India (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2004) Institute for Studies in Global Prosperity, “May Knowledge Grow in our Hearts: Applying Spiritual Principles to Development Practice”, Occasional Papers on Insight and Practice 2, 2010, http://www.globalprosperity.org/documents/ISGP_May_Knowledge_Grow_in_our_Hearts_Applying_Spiritual_Principles_to_Development_Practice.pdf, accessed 1 June 2012. Mason, Karen and Smith, Herbert, Women’s Empowerment and Social Context: Results From Five Asian Countries (January 2003) <http://siteresources.worldbank.org/INTEMPOWERMENT/Resources/13323_womens_empowerment.pdf>, accessed 9 September 2011 Metcalf, Barbara and Metcalf, Thomas, A Concise History of India (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2002)

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National Commission for Enterprises in the Unorganized Sector, Report on Conditions of Work and Promotion of Livelihoods in the Unorganized Sector (New Delhi: 2007), <http://nceus.gov.in/Condition_of_workers_sep_2007.pdf>, accessed 11 September 2011 Rai, Shirin, “Class, Caste and Gender: Women in Parliament in India”, Women in Parliament, (Stockholm: International IDEA, 2002) Sen, Amartya, The Argumentative Indian: Writings on Indian History, Culture and Identity (New York: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, 2005) Sen, Amartya, The Atlantic Online, 15 December 1999, http://www.theatlantic.com/past/docs/unbound/interviews/ba991215.htm, accessed 1 June 2012