The Question of Justice and Gender in Islam: Case Study of AllIndia Shia Personal Law Board (AISPLB)

The establishment of a just, fair and ethical society is one of the foremosttenants of Islam. Therefore it would not be an exaggeration to say that thequestion of gender justice can also be inferred through numerous verses of theQur’an which establishes the framework of Qur’anic Weltanschauung.However, a divergence can be witnessed in the manner in which ‘genderjustice’ has been interpreted by All India Shia Personal Law Board (AISPLB)and All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB, dominated by Sunnis),particularly in case of personal laws pertaining to divorce. While AIMPLBhas out rightly rejected the question of re-considering the existing personallaws, AISPLB has published a ‘model nikahnama’ (sample marriage contract)that denounces triple talaq in one sitting. Since AISPLB is only a decade oldorganization, its role with regard to the establishment of a gender just societyhas not been studied till date. The main argument of this paper is whether‘shia interpretation’ is more liberal or progressive than ‘sunni interpretation’on the question of Muslim women’s rights The question of ‘justice’ and‘ethics’ in this progressive interpretation of Islam will also be looked into. Thepaper will also analyze the role of AISPLB in bringing change to the Shiacommunity keeping the principles of justice and ethics in Islam viz-a-vizMuslim women. The methodology adopted would be textual and comparative.The paper will conclude by drawing concrete inferences from the comparativeanalysis of both boards regarding the gender justice and progressiveinterpretation of text regarding personal laws.

کلیدواژه ها:

Gender justice ، ethics ، personal law ، Islamic law