MUSLIM WOMEN’S RIGHTS IN INDIA: A SOCIO-LEGAL STUDY OF MOHAMMEDAN PERSONAL LAW, SOCIO-CULTURAL CONSTRAINTS, ECONOMIC STATUS AND JUDICIAL PROTECTION

Abstract

Muslim women’s rights in India are shaped by an interaction of (i) Mohammedan personal law as applied through the Muslim Personal Law (Shariat) Application Act, 1937 and related statutory frameworks, (ii) constitutional guarantees of equality, dignity, and freedom of religion, (iii) socio-cultural norms that govern marriage, divorce, mobility, and public participation, and (iv) women’s economic position within households and labour markets. This socio-legal paper examines how rights “on paper” translate into lived realities, with a focus on marriage and divorce (including talaq practices), maintenance and financial security, inheritance and property, and access to justice. It traces the role of judicial interventions—particularly in maintenance jurisprudence and post-triple-talaq legal remedies—in expanding protections for Muslim women, while also highlighting the limits of litigation when structural constraints persist. Using doctrinal analysis of laws and leading decisions alongside socio-legal insights from scholarship and policy discussions, the paper argues that effective protection requires a combined approach: rights-based interpretation by courts, procedural safeguards within family-law administration, and socio-economic empowerment measures (education, employability, legal aid, and community-level support).