by various arguments: the family will spend on her
marriage; after marriage she will receive hospitality
from her brothers whenever she visits her natal
family; and asking for her share will spoil her rela-
tionship with her brothers and bring disrespect to
the family honor (Hussain 1998). Thus, the gen-
dered practices and the local culture determine
what women’s behavior should be and bind them
to the role of guardians of the threatened identity.
In the area of marriage and divorce, once again,
the practice of Islam overrides scriptural Islam
because of prevailing local culture. For example,
the consent of a girl to marriage is rarely sought and
registration of marriage (nikà™nàma) is hardly
practiced. Personal choice of marriage partner
is considered to be disrespectful of family honor.
Divorcedwomen are left with very little or no sup-
port from family, community, or the Wakf Board.
The interests of dominant political and conserva-
tive groups restrict women’s options. For example,
the Muslim Women’s Protection of the Right to
Divorce Act 1986 and the judgment of the Supreme
Court of India in 2001 prevented Muslim women
from claiming maintenance as Indian citizens.
Thus, both the gendered practices and interpreta-
tions of personal laws and the interest of particular
groups from within or outside the community must
be taken into account in explaining the stereotypes
of Muslim women.
In the sphere of sexuality and reproduction,
Islamic provisions are overruled or misinterpreted
by the maulanas, senior religious leaders, resulting
in various misconceptions about the fertility pat-
tern of Indian Muslims. These misconceptions and
misinterpretations both within the community and
outside it further bolster the stereotypical image of
Muslim women and give the impression that mar-
riage and motherhood are the only opportunities
for them. Women are often held responsible for the
birth of female children and for infertility, thus pro-
viding the rationale for a man to divorce or marry
a second wife because the family needs a male heir
to carry the family name (Hussain 2001). Such
interpretations are gendered and rooted in, and
reinforced by, the cultural and ideological systems
of multiple patriarchies rather than mere religious
prescriptions.
The public stereotypical views of Muslim women,
including in the media, hold that a woman can be
divorced any time for no given reason and can eas-
ily remarry (as shown in many television serials and
films) and that every Muslim man has four wives.
These two views have most often been cited and
visualized by the general public as the main reasons
for the miserable and subordinate status of Muslim756 stereotypes
women. But the fact is that the possibility of re-
marriage for a divorced woman is almost absent
because of the stigma, shame, and disrespect related
to divorce and the problems of dowry. It is easier for
a divorced man to remarry even if he has grown
children (Hussain 2003). The legal provision for
four wives is often used to explain the miserable
condition of Muslim women and is considered a
reason for the growth of the Muslim population in
India. This stereotype is negated by various reports
that show Muslims as the least polygamous com-
munity compared to other religious communities
(India 1975). The supposed backwardness of
Muslim women in India is not a result of this pro-
vision; rather it is due to a combination of various
factors. Growth and decline of population is
dependent on other socioeconomic and political
factors, as is evident from the population decline of
other Muslim countries, particularly Bangladesh.
Academic writings also create stereotypes of
Muslim women and relate their backwardness to
religion, ignoring the power and gender dynamics
of the wider social structure: “Muslim women are
miserable creatures without any rights whatsoever
in respect of marriage, succession, guardianship or
birth control. Islam has accorded the right to a man
to have four wives. The most abominable is the sys-
tem of purdah. In Muslim society a double standard
of morality is prevailing” (Subbama 1998, 3).
The prevalence of stereotypes and the observance
of gendered practices show that patriarchal norms
and hegemonic ideologies use a selective interpreta-
tion of religion and culture. These ideologies sup-
port social, economic, and political practices that
sustain the dominance of certain groups; religion is
often used to justify existing social relations in the
society. It is these that are the root cause of gender
inequality and gender discrimination. It seems that
differentiations within the community in terms of
class and money, power, and privilege are often
used as powerful and unifying forces in a “cultural
articulation of patriarchy” (Shaheed 1997). The
rigid cultural strictures and the prevailing stereo-
types override the religious prescriptions and skew
the rights of women (Hussain 2003).Bibliography
S. Hussain, The changing half. A study of Muslim women
in India, Delhi 1998.
——, Inter-generational mobility among Muslim women
in India. Report, Indian Council for Social Science
Research, Ministry of Human Resource Development,
Delhi 1999.
——, Do women really have a voice in reproductive mat-
ters?, in Asian Journal of Women Studies7:4 (2001),
29–69.
——, Male privilege female anguish. Divorce and remar-