Refusing to tolerate the ill-treatment meted out by their men, some Muslim women of Tamil Nadu have decided to build their own mosque with its own jamaat, sending tremors in the state's conservative Muslim society. Normally, under Islamic laws, women are not allowed to enter mosques.
Coming together under the banner of 'Chaaya', a voluntary organisation, these women intend to build a mosque at Parambu village in Pudukottai district. The mosque will house a jamaat for women. “The local jamaat has given us land for the mosque, which will be an all-women affair," said Sherifa, convenor of Chaaya.
“This decision was taken after we found male-dominated jamaats handing down discriminatory verdicts in family disputes, especially in divorce matters," said Sherifa. "When a man seeks divorce, only his case is heard by the jamaat. The wife is never called for a hearing, saying that women are not permitted inside mosques, where jamaats usually sit."
To combat one-sided talaqs, Chaaya has urged Muslim wives not to accept divorce notices that come from jamaats and instead take cognisance only of court orders.
Rasheeda, a Chaaya member, took the extreme step of declaring "Khula", whereby Muslim women can divorce husbands, when her husband threatened to divorce her and remarry. "My complaints to the jamaat fell on deaf ears, forcing me to join this organisation," she said.
The mosque will be a proper affair with minarets. There will be a woman moulvi versed in the Koran and Islamic tenets.
"A survey conducted by us showed that in one out of every five Muslim household, there is at least one case of desertion by the husband or instant talaq or second marriage by the man, citing some mental or physical disability of the first wife," said Rasheeda. "And when these matters were taken to the police station, they asked us to settle them with the jamaat, which are controlled by men."
The development has shaken the 'other side'. "Normally women are not allowed into mosques because their presence could disturb men during prayers. Jamaats have been asked to settle disputes outside mosques so that they can hear the women's side. This arrangement is not really necessary," was the response of Mohammed Sikandar, secretary of a jamaat in Chennai.
All-India Muslim Personal Law Board vice-chairman Maulana Kalbe Sadiq said, "there is no harm in constructing such a mosque. Women have the right to construct mosques and offer prayers in the jamaat."
Though India has no such mosque, Iran has mosques with two sections: the men offer prayers in one and women in the other.