Religious personal laws as non-state laws: implications for gender justice

Conventions, Courts, and Communities: Gender Equity, CEDAW and Religious Personal Law in India

“…Even though never articulated so, if it is the majority status of Hindus that allows the state to modify its PRLs, the sanctity of RPLs surely becomes disassociated from the religious aspect of Hindu law. (Parashar, 2013: 10)…”

“…The entire body of Fundamental Rights enumerated and implied in the Indian Constitution are modeled after the UN’s Universal Declaration of Human rights (Nussbaum, 2002). Personal laws must conform to the fundamental rights and the constitution generally, and the Supreme Court of India has asserted the primacy of the constitution over religious personal laws on several occasions (Parashar, 2013). The penal code and criminal law are not enforced based on religion, so there is the possibility of recourse through secular courts in criminal cases (Rao, 2016: 57).…”

“…These documents fall short of delivering significant change, however, in two ways. First, although the government has recently taken a more active stance in reforming religious personal law, and great strides have been made in both Hindu and Muslim personal law in terms of divorce and alimony, there is still significant inequality regarding inheritance and child custody (Parashar, 2013).…”

Some Observations on Indian Federalism in Comparative Perspective

“…From here, also, the large recognition of the linguistic rights of the various ethnic groups, as it is done on the basis of both Article 345 of the Indian Constitution (Poggeschi, 2013: p. 169), so that the states of the Indian Union can be defined as "linguistic states" (Amirante, 2012), and Article 54 of the Ethiopian Constitution (Mazza, 2008: p. 180). It is true that, in India, the linguistic pluralism is in addition to religious pluralism (Parashar, 2013), but it is no less true that in Nigeria the ethno-federal power sharing is strongly influenced, especially in its practical application, by the persistent religious conflict (Kendhammer, 2013;Miles, 2003). The Indian federalism, ultimately, is a pragmatic federalism.…”

Book Review: Srimati Basu, The Trouble with Marriage: Feminists Confront Law and Violence in India

“…From a gendered point of view, this plurality of laws and dispute resolution forums has been depicted as a boon and a bane. While some scholarship identifies that rules and decisions based on custom, religion or culture often discriminate against women (Parashar, 2013), other academics stress that multilocational justice systems allow ‘forum shopping’, which can facilitate gender equality (Solanki, 2011). Basu shows how Indian women manoeuvre through the plurilegal system, using state law as well as ‘do-it-yourself law’ (p. 9) to make their claims regarding marriage law and domestic violence.…”