New Marriage law for Muslim women in India

The All India Muslim Women Personal Law Board has released the "Shariat Nikahnama" that they claim would give equal rights to both Muslim men and women.

If the board has its way, a Muslim woman would be entitled to seek divorce if her husband was found having illicit relationship with another woman.

The board has also rejected any divorce done through SMS, e-mail, phone as video conferencing, besides rejecting divorce done on provocation.

A Muslim woman can seek divorce if she is forced by her husband to indulge in unnatural sex. She can also seek divorce if her husband contracts AIDS.

"We have framed the new nikahnama strictly in accordance with the tenets of Islam, which clearly prohibit any kind of harassment or oppression of a married woman by her husband," said AIMWPLB president Shaista Amber.

Shaista Amber added that at the shariat also entitles a woman to take separation even when the husband refuses to grant a divorce.

"Besides extra-marital relationship, these include absence of physical relationship between the husband and wife for more than a year, abandonment of the wife for more than four years, failure of the husband to look after the wife and family or any kind of ill-treatment or torture," said the model nikahnama.

The new nikahnama has 17-point guidelines for marriage under the Shariat for bride and groom, while eight points on the divorce process.
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