Gender justice at last, say Christian women's groups

Gender justice at last, say Christian women's groups

NEW DELHI, MAY 2: The Christian church is crying foul over the draft Christian Marriage Bill 2000, but Christian women's groups see in it the promise of gender justice long denied by the reigning patriarchal order.

For Christian women, who for decades have chafed under the unfair legal provisions governing divorce, the draft Bill, spells a degree of equality in the eyes of the law. "This was a long-standing demand of Christian women", says leading lawyer Indira Jaisingh, referring to the inequalities in divorce laws as applied to the Christian community.

A Christian woman could seek divorce only if she could prove that her husband had indulged in adultery with cruelty, or adultery with sodomy or incest. Whereas the man had only to prove that his wife had been adulterous as grounds for obtaining a divorce.

According to Jyotsna Chatterji of the Joint Women's Programme (JWP), a Christian women's NGO, the Bill, now being readied by Union Law and Justice Minister Ram Jethmalani to be tabled in Parliament in the current session, has taken into account all the concerns of women. Under the provisions of the draft Bill, women would have right to matrimonial property, to assets acquired after marriage, maintenance and right to the matrimonial home.

"Earlier the standard of justice was different for men and women. The Bill is a major step towards achieving gender justice", Chatterji said.

While a number of Christian women's groups including the JWP, All India Christian People's Forum and the National Women's Organisation have all welcomed the move to expedite the Bill, they want the setting up of a sub-committee to bring the government's draft in tune with the original draft that the Christian groups had finalised after long deliberations.

The fact remains that both the existing Christian Marriage Act, 1872, and the Indian Divorce Act, 1869, are over a century old. The Christian community had drawn up the drafts of four bills relating to marriage, divorce, adoption and succession about six years ago.

What the BJP Government has done is to have clubbed two of these draft bills, those relating to marriage and divorce. But while readying the draft Christian Marriage Bill, 2000, it has either left out crucial clauses or altered them so as to curtail the freedom entitled to the church.

For example, the draft Bill eliminates some of the freedoms traditionally enjoyed by the church. So far, if a Christian wanted to marry a non-Christian, the marriage could be solemnised in the church. Under the terms of the new Bill, Church marriages are permitted only when both partners are Christians: mixed couples would have to get married under the Special Marriage Act.

Similarly, severe restrictions have been placed on priests performing marriages, with such stringent penalties for violation of the regulations, that it could be used as a lever to harass or victimise priests.

With the existing communally charged environment prevailing today, with attacks on Christian minorities becoming commonplace, Church authorities fear that the newly-inserted clauses in the Bill would be employed to hit out at priests and other church officials.

The women's groups are aware that a long battle awaits them to sensitise an overtly patriarchal system to the rights of women. Though church authorities themselves acknowledge the need to treat men and women equally under the law, they still need to convince their laity, especially when it comes to women's rights in marriage and in the case of inheritance and property laws.

The women's groups are planning meetings all over the country starting later this month to open up a debate and to convince church leaders and lay people alike on the need to ensure a better deal for women.