forces (Hindu and Muslim). In the 1980s the Shah
Bano case led the Congress government to pass the
Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Divorce)
Bill. The distinction made between monolithic Hindu
and Muslim communities during the debates on the
bill fueled the tensions between them and con-
tributed to the success of the Hindu nationalist
party, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which went
from 2 seats in parliament in 1984 to 189 seats in
the 1999 elections. The BJP also strengthened its
position by agitating for the construction of a tem-
ple to Lord Ram at Ayodhya on the site of Babri
Masjid, a mosque that had been demolished by
party supporters in December 1992. The debate
over Shah Bano and the destruction of the Babri
Masjid led to more involvement by educated,
urban Muslim women in the activities of women’s
organizations such as the Janawadi Mahila Samiti
(JMS) and the National Federation of Indian
Women. However for most Muslim women, the
two events led to a redefinition of Muslim female
identity primarily as Muslims and as a minority,
and consequently to more constraints on women’s
rights in the name of Islam.Class and identity politics
Surveys of women parliamentarians in the South
Asian region indicate that most of them come from
middle- to upper-class backgrounds, have profes-
sional training, have accessed politics through their
families, and have few or no links to the women’s
movements in their countries. Class and kinship
ties help these women to defray some of the tradi-
tional costs to Muslim women of political involve-
ment. These women are able to afford paid help or
have a strong family support system that takes care
of household and childcare duties in particular. For
women like Benazir Bhutto who were single when
they entered politics there is tremendous pressure
to conform to traditionally female roles once they
marry. The exception to this is political widows like
Sheikh Hasina and Begum Zia in Bangladesh who
are accorded a special status by virtue of their per-
sonal tragedies, which have led them to assume the
political mantle of a father (Sheikh Hasina) or hus-
band (Begum Zia). Class can also mediate the in-
fluence of religion. In India, Dr. Najma Heptullah,
who is the deputy speaker of the Indian Rajya
Sabha (upper house) is from an elite class and edu-
cational background and has been supported in her
career by her family. At the local level, a survey of
20 women ward commissioners from four cities in
Bangladesh found a similar nexus between class (as
defined by education and income), kinship ties, and560 political parties and participation
political participation. For these women, familial
connections to politics provided valuable experi-
ences that later translated into public office and
helped smooth their way in a conservative Islamic
environment.Importance of electoral
reforms
Most Muslim women in South Asia do not par-
ticipate in political activity. Women’s groups in
Bangladesh, India, and Pakistan have been at the
forefront of efforts to bring about electoral reforms
aimed at giving women access to office in political
environments where they are simply not tolerated.
While this can be contentious at the national level,
governments have been more responsive at the local
level. In Bangladesh, during the last local govern-
ment elections (Union Parishad) more than 12,000
women members were elected directly for reserved
seats. In India, the adoption of the 73rd and 74th
amendments to the Indian constitution in 1993 led
to the reservation of 33 percent of seats for women
in elections to local bodies (Panchayati Raj). Over
one million women today (some of whom are
Muslim) hold office at the local level in India and,
more importantly, a third of all chair positions in
local bodies are also filled by women. In Pakistan,
the Musharraf government reforms led to the elec-
tion of 120 women in the four provincial assemblies
and 36,000 female councilors. The response in
Islamic constituencies has been mixed. In some
cases there have been efforts by religious leaders to
bar women from voting and threaten punishment if
they do (North West Frontier Province) and to issue
fatwas banning women from appearing on a
podium to campaign for election (Mallapuram dis-
trict in Kerala, India). However, the Islamist MMA
in Pakistan fielded 570 candidates in the 2002 elec-
tions on a platform focused on women’s rights to
education, social status, literacy, and protection
from violence. The party was able to win 15 seats in
the national legislature and a further 20 in the
provincial assemblies. The hope is that as more
women enter local government they will gain pub-
lic acceptance for women’s role in governance
and create a space for new generations of women
representatives.Bibliography
M. Afkham (ed.), Faith and freedom. Women’s human
rights in the Muslim world, Syracuse, N.Y. 1995.
Z. Hasan (ed.), Forging identities. Gender, communities
and the state, New Delhi 1994.
C. W. Howland (ed.), Religious fundamentalism and the
human rights of women, New York 1999.
P. Jeffrey and A. Basu (eds.), Appropriating gender.