ABSTRACT
This chapter traces the relationship between Muslim women’s activists and community leadership. It further deals with the question: who represents the community? The argument is that the community is divided on Muslim women’s rights in Islam. The views from the conservative, moderate, and progressive leaderships delve into the authentic meaning of Islam and women’s role. Therefore, it disturbs the monolith called Muslim women and highlights the comparative views of the Sunni, Shia, Deobandi, and Bohra leadership on women’s rights; it further discusses the ways Muslim women activists challenge and reshape these interpretations and develop their own interpretations on rights and social change. Muslim women’s activism has also faced several challenges due to the internal fragmentation of the community. The community leadership and their approach towards women’s freedom, rights, and role have been heterogeneous and to some extent are contradictory in their positions. The Shia-Sunni conflict has impacted these women’s mobilisations for banning tin talaq (divorce) in one sitting. The subsections explain the conflicting standpoints of the male leadership along with the narratives of Muslim women activists. It also explains the conflicting standpoints of Muslim women activists on Muslim personal law reform, especially on tin talaq. These subsections also trace the major debates on tin talaq within the community. In spite of varying viewpoints, the community stands united on the disapproval of the Uniform Civil Code. The question of being practising Muslim (good) and non-practising (kafer) decides the meaning of the authentic Muslim self and substantiates the fact that Muslim women’s negotiations with Islam and Muslim personal law are not homogenous entities. The chapter, lastly, explains the relationship between the women, community, and long-nurtured demand for social change.
