Shia board slams domestic violence

[MAITRI]

Shia board slams domestic violence
Piyush Srivastava
Monday, March 14, 2011
Among the many ills plaguing our society, domestic violence would
definitely rank high in the list. Irrespective of caste, creed or
religion, women at home tend to be at the receiving end in a society
where male chauvinism still holds fort. In an effort to tackle this
problem the All India Shia Personal Law Board (AISPLB), in a historic
meeting, decided to ostracise those who beat or desert their wives.

The board has also decided to launch a toll-free helpline soon to help
victims of domestic violence. "We are also going to constitute a
committee of ulemas and lawyers to provide all kinds of legal and
social support to those women who are victims of domestic violence and
gender bias," AISPLB president Maulana Mirza Mohammad Athar said on
Sunday following a meeting of the board.

"The board resolved in its meeting that there would be zero tolerance
against wife beaters. We are in the process of preparing a new
nikahnama under which there will be inherent provisions to curb the
menace. Our ulemas were forced to do this because we had been
receiving hundreds of such complaints everyday and in majority of the
cases the culprit were men," Athar said.

The AISPLB, which was founded in 1972, also expressed its displeasure
against polygamy. "The Shia body has reached the conclusion that dowry
is the reason behind increasing instances of polygamy. We are also
committed to prevent dowry system in the community.

The general practice is that on the day of the marriage, both families
decide on the amount of mehar (nuptial gift) which is given by the
groom's family to the bride.

But now the board has decided that the mehar would be in the form of
cash and must be decided well in advance before the wedding.

The bride's family would be free to spend this amount to meet the
expenses of the marriage ceremony," Yasub Abbas, spokesperson of the
board, said.

Abbas claimed there are over 200 million Shias in the world out of
which 114 million Shias who live in India, Pakistan, Iraq and Iran
look to the AISPLB for guidance.

"There are 16 million in India who meticulously follow the
instructions issued by Shia cleric who are senior members of the
panel. We hope that our resolution will be a milestone in the history
of the community," Abbas said.

He said the board has also urged the Centre to provide shelter to
Shias who are not comfortable in Pakistan.

"We have been receiving complaints of ill treatment with the Shias
from India who had migrated to Pakistan. We want the government to
help them out," he added.

The AISPLB has also demanded that political parties include
reservation for Muslims in their election manifesto.

RELIEF FOR BATTERED WOMEN

The All India Shia Personal Law Board has decided to ostracise those
who beat or desert their wives.

A toll- free helpline will be launched by the board to help victims of
domestic violence.

The board will prepare a new nikahnama under which there will be
inherent provisions to curb domestic violence.

The board also condemned polygamy and said dowry is the prime reason
behind the practice.

The board also ruled that mehar (nuptial gift) would now be given in
the form of cash and must be decided well in advance before the
wedding.




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