Muslim Women’s Rights Discourse in the Pre independece Period

The present paper deals with the discourse of the rights of Muslim women in the pre- independence period with particular reference to the Shariat Act 1937 and the Muslim Marriage Dissolution Act 1939. A few questions have been raised which would provide a comprehensive idea of the intentions behind these enactments. This paper attempts to explore the sociohistorical and political situation in which these Acts were passed. To this end, various debates have been captured that took place among the legislators in the assembly, social reformers, writers, community leaders and so on. The role of political parties, women’s organizations and the women’s movement is also taken into account in dealing with the above issue. The paper is based on information collected from primary and secondary sources, and analysis is socio-historical in nature. [CWDS].