Kerala Muslim woman is on a mission against Shariat Law. It’s a do-or-die inheritance battle

Safiya PM wants the Supreme Court to remedy the fact that non-believers are subject to Muslim personal law.

Safiya PM wants the Supreme Court to declare her a non-believer Muslim | Special arrangement

New Delhi: Safiya PM from Kerala’s Alappuzha is a woman on a mission. She doesn’t believe in Islam but she is just not able to exit the choke of Shariat law. She now wants the Supreme Court to declare her a non-believer too.

It is the first step toward her only daughter inheriting all of her assets—Shariat law allows only half of it to go to her, and the other half will go to Safiya’s brother. At a time when the Uniform Civil Code is a hot-button political issue, Safiya’s case contributes to the debate about discriminatory elements of Muslim Personal Law toward women. 

She wants the court to remedy the fact that non-believers are subject to the personal law of the religion they were born into. Her entry point into the issue is inheritance rights. She can only avail of the secular Indian Succession Act 1925 if the apex court declares her a non-believer.

“I left Islam because the religion’s rules and conventions are against women. And yet, even after making such a decision, Islam is becoming a hindrance to me inheriting and giving away my own property. There needs to be a solution to this,” the 50-year-old tells ThePrint. 

As per the Muslim Personal Law (Shariat) Application Act 1937, a Muslim woman cannot inherit more than one-third of her family’s property. In case she is an only child, she can receive 50 per cent of her family’s estate, while the remaining amount devolves to a male relative. 

Safiya is only Muslim on paper. Her father too is a non-believer. “My mother was devout but I was not made to follow any one path. There was the freedom to choose,” she says.

She is well aware of the risk that follows people like her. Safiya is the general secretary of the Ex-Muslims of Kerala, a rationalist collective, which was officially registered in 2020. It’s the first of its kind in any Asian country, she adds. 

“Someone has to take up these issues someday,” Safiya says. 

However, choosing not to believe is not enough in the eyes of the law. One has to be declared a non-believer legally to avail of the Secular Succession Act. And section 58 of the Act specifically exempts its application to Muslims in India. 

This legal pitfall means she will inherit only one-third of her father’s property. “For that to change, he has to go to the courts and be declared a non-believer too,” Safiya says. She also points out that section 2 of the Muslim Personal Law prevents her father from transferring more than that to her, as a gift or in a will. 

Personal fight 

Safiya does not believe in the central tenets of Islam or the Quran. “One man is equal to two women as per the religion. This is the logic by which the rules of succession have been drafted in Sharia law. It’s nothing but injustice,” she says. 

But she considers herself a non-practising Muslim. “I still buy new clothes and cook biriyani for Eid,” she laughs, “but I don’t fast or pray.” 

It’s why she has taken the fight to the country’s top court. Safiya is also part of an earlier petition before the Supreme Court which seeks to “wipe away the anti-constitutionalism present in the all-encompassing Muslim personal laws and make it inclusive and acceptable for all”. 

According to her, multiple aspects of personal law are discriminatory—marriage, divorce, and adoption to name a few. She chose to focus on inheritance because it’s something that affects “100 per cent of Muslim women”.

“We must start somewhere. Wherever I feel like there is a problem, I must get involved in fixing it. I also hope it’ll be an inspiration for others to get involved in the fight,” the retired ornamental fish farmer adds. 

Inheritance is a personal matter for the single mother. She has one daughter, and her brother, the designated male relative set to inherit half of her property and two-thirds of her father’s property, has Down Syndrome. 

“This would go to waste as the petitioner [Safiya] will have to manage everything, without having any access to the properties named after her brother. Property earmarked for her brother will remain unutilised,” her advocate Prashant Padmanabhan had earlier told ThePrint.

But her brother’s illness is inconsequential to her fight. “To say that I will only get a third of what my brother gets is discrimination, whether or not he has Down Syndrome,” she says.

Call for change

Safiya became conscious of the discriminatory nature of religion during her school days. Growing up, she witnessed how family members divided their property. It was the spark that led her to renounce Islam.

She credits this level of critical thinking to the atmosphere her father created at home. “There was freedom to discuss my thoughts with him openly,” she says.

Safiya has spent her life taking these discussions beyond her living room and reaching out to Muslims, especially women. She takes the time to explain to them why the personal laws are discriminatory. It’s the first step in creating change. 

“95 per cent of people react positively. Women are quick to call for change. Men are more hesitant. Of course, they don’t say anything to my face but it’s clear from their tone,” Safiya says.

Only the ultra-religious have rejected her outright. “They say that these are ‘Allah’s laws’ and that it can’t be changed,” she says. A few relatives have also registered their protest, but Safiya remains undeterred.

The UCC plank

It’s not just ex-Muslims like Safiya who have taken issue with Muslim Personal Laws. It’s a favourite issue for the BJP too. During a poll rally in Bhopal on Friday, Union Home Minister Amit Shah claimed that Congress wants to “bring back Muslim personal law” and that only the BJP can stop this. The BJP, he said, will ensure that India will be “run on uniform civil code”.

But Safiya doesn’t see this as a solution, at least not in its current form. “You can’t just target Muslim personal laws when Hindu personal laws are just as bad,” she says, pointing out that Hindu women only got equal rights to their fathers’ property as late as 2005.

“The problem with the UCC now is that there is a fear that it will target minority communities, especially Muslims. If it treated all citizens—men, women, transgender, Hindu, Christian, Muslim—as equals then I would welcome it,” she says. 

But, first, Safiya adds, there has to be a draft of such a law. And it must be placed before Parliament and the public for discussion. “The law commission should ask for our feedback and recommendations. If such a law is put forth and this process is followed then my problems will be solved, why would I not support it?” she asks.

For now, Safiya does not see that happening. So, she sees no choice but to fight to amend the existing laws for non-believers to access the secular provisions of the Constitution.

“It’s do or die for me. I want some secular laws in place for the next generation before I die. Even if I’m not successful, I want to be remembered as someone who tried,” she says.

(Edited by Ratan Priya)