ABSTRACT
This chapter seeks to highlight the discriminatory nature of personal laws and, moreover, to indicate a path for reform that is consonant with prevailing political conditions and minority group interests. It describes a greater extent than commonly understood, to reconcile the goal of equal rights for women with the aspiration of cultural and religious pluralism. The chapter highlights discriminatory aspects of personal laws in Asian countries with particular reference to India, Sri Lanka, Singapore and the Philip pines. It emphasizes specific reasons why personal laws that discriminate against women need to be reformed. The chapter evaluates three principal means of reforming personal laws: by legislative amendments; by progressive judicial interpretation and application; and by instituting a uniform civil code. The judicial decision was recognized as a victory for the notion of gender equality. In India, the notion of clearly defined Hindu and Muslim religious laws emerged primarily as a result of British administrative, legislative and judicial actions.
