What do these names have in common:
Zakia Soman
Lubna Choudhary
Noorjehan Niaz
They are the women leading the charge against Triple Talaq and in favor of a Uniform Civil Code.
The pleasant surprise in their revolution is the shear courage and audacity with which they present their arguments.
They are shoving gender rights down the throats of their mullahs. Who seem befuddled by the aggression. An aggression rarely seen in the ranks of Muslim women.
Another common thread binds these women. They are all Muslims from Mumbai and belong to (as their surnames and accents suggest) the konkan coast of Maharashtra.
Sadly the best known Konkani Muslim is Dawood Ibrahim Kaskar. But this community has always held on to their Marathi identity and as late as the 1920s and 30s were begging Hindus to bring them back into the Hindu fold (that caste considerations prevented their return is a different issue).
Konkani Marathis in general are a tribe that fueled the rise of not only the Shiv Sena but also Mumbai's underworld. All three major Mumbai Dons (and their armies) from the 80s came from this stock.
This community has a unique mindset that is often misunderstood by not just non-maharashtrians but even Marathis from other parts of the country.
In a strange way they exhibit shades of the same intransigence that one associates with orthodox Muslims.
It is no wonder than that the two communities have been a loggerheads even in contemporary India.
The banner of revolt against gender discrimination raised by Bharatiya Muslim Mahila Andolan must be seen in the backdrop of the konkani marathi antecedants of the two founders.
Maharashtra has been blessed with a stellar gallery of social reformers. That a Kunbi (OBC) Maratha could rise to become an Emperor by galvanizing Hindus across castes/class was a natural outcome of the vibrant social reforms initiated by several saints since the 1200s
These Konkani Muslim women are continuing this long tradition of social reform. The courage and brazen audacity on display can only happen with women who are willing to risk life and limb to bring a revolutionary change to their community.
This is only the latest chapter in a tradition of reformists who have challenged orthodoxy. No religion or doctrine has survived their onslaught.
Muslim Law Board is merely the most recent victim.
Zakia Soman
Lubna Choudhary
Noorjehan Niaz
They are the women leading the charge against Triple Talaq and in favor of a Uniform Civil Code.
The pleasant surprise in their revolution is the shear courage and audacity with which they present their arguments.
They are shoving gender rights down the throats of their mullahs. Who seem befuddled by the aggression. An aggression rarely seen in the ranks of Muslim women.
Another common thread binds these women. They are all Muslims from Mumbai and belong to (as their surnames and accents suggest) the konkan coast of Maharashtra.
Sadly the best known Konkani Muslim is Dawood Ibrahim Kaskar. But this community has always held on to their Marathi identity and as late as the 1920s and 30s were begging Hindus to bring them back into the Hindu fold (that caste considerations prevented their return is a different issue).
Konkani Marathis in general are a tribe that fueled the rise of not only the Shiv Sena but also Mumbai's underworld. All three major Mumbai Dons (and their armies) from the 80s came from this stock.
This community has a unique mindset that is often misunderstood by not just non-maharashtrians but even Marathis from other parts of the country.
In a strange way they exhibit shades of the same intransigence that one associates with orthodox Muslims.
It is no wonder than that the two communities have been a loggerheads even in contemporary India.
The banner of revolt against gender discrimination raised by Bharatiya Muslim Mahila Andolan must be seen in the backdrop of the konkani marathi antecedants of the two founders.
Maharashtra has been blessed with a stellar gallery of social reformers. That a Kunbi (OBC) Maratha could rise to become an Emperor by galvanizing Hindus across castes/class was a natural outcome of the vibrant social reforms initiated by several saints since the 1200s
These Konkani Muslim women are continuing this long tradition of social reform. The courage and brazen audacity on display can only happen with women who are willing to risk life and limb to bring a revolutionary change to their community.
This is only the latest chapter in a tradition of reformists who have challenged orthodoxy. No religion or doctrine has survived their onslaught.
Muslim Law Board is merely the most recent victim.
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