Despite the sharp criticisms coming up even from within the community, the Muslim Personal law Protection Council formed in Kerala last month is holding fast to its decision to approach the Supreme Court for seeking legal validity for marriages of Muslim girls under 18, the age for marriages as stipulated by the law in the country.
The Samastha Kerala Jam Iyyat’ul Ulema, an organisation of the strongest Sunni Muslim sect in the State and the outfit spearheading the move for getting marriageable age lowered, has reiterated that it would not accept any law – obviously the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act of 2006 – that termed as a crime marriage of (Muslim) girls under 18 years of age.
Samastha has made it clear that the council would “go up to the Supreme Court” for getting legal protection for marriage of under-18 Muslim girls. “In our religious perspective, any law that prohibits marriage of girls who have not attained 18 years of age cannot be accepted,” said Kottumala TM Bappu Musliyar, top Samastha functionary and chairman of the council.
Musliyar also came down heavily on senior Congress leader and State Power Minister Aryadan Muhammad, a strong critic of conservatism in Muslim community, for his announcement that he would oppose in the apex court the plea of the Personal law Protection Council seeking validity for marriage of under-18 Muslim girls.
“The community will throw in the waste bin those who raised their voice against Sharia,” said Kottumala Musliyar in obvious reference to Aryadan Muhammad and other Muslim individuals and outfits that had opposed the Samastha stand. No attempt to curtail the Sharia through any law would be allowed, he added.
He also criticised the Muslim Educational Society, running scores of educational institutions including engineering and medical colleges, for opposing the move to get Muslim girl’s marriageable age lowered from 18 after participating in the meeting which had come to the decision to wage a legal battle for this.
The controversy had erupted after some of the leading Muslim organisations in the State decided at a meeting on September 21 to approach the Supreme Court challenging the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act of 2006, which fixed the marriageable age for girls of any religion as 18, so that Muslim girls’ marriage could be held even if the girl had not attained 18.
The justifications given by the organisations for this were that the Muslim Personal law had not fixed any age for girls for marriage, that any laws that went against this were an infringement upon the fundamental rights of the Muslims and that such laws were against the Muslim Personal law (Sharia) Application Act of 1937.
According to Kottumala Musliyar, who was elected chairman of the council the meeting had constituted, “Sharia does not prescribe any restrictions on the age for marriage of Muslim girls. Though the Sharia Application Act was passed during the British rule, it has been serving as the foundation of such matters.”
According to those who want under-age Muslim girls’ marriage to be legalised, this is necessary in cases where under-18 girls are “compelled” to get married due to unavoidable circumstances but they are unable to spell out what these “unavoidable circumstances” are.