Right to choice of women
The Uttar Pradesh government has cleared an ordinance that enables the state to police and punish inter-faith marriages with “the sole intention of changing a girl’s religion” This is, in one word, abhorrent.
What is the issue with Love and Marriage?
Marrying someone you love is a fundamental right. If two persons have the right to get married despite their gender, caste, and religion, then this is a clear infringement of the Constitution‘s guarantee of the right against discrimination.
What is Love jihad?
Love Jihad is a conspiracy theory, developed by proponents of Hindutva that has been used to invoke prejudice against Muslims. Hatred is spread through malicious propaganda that suggests interreligious relationships are a sinister plot to exert power over gullible Hindus.
Issues associated with the law against love jihad
India's one of the few democratic countries in the world where even a law against committing suicide has yet to be enacted, and yet there have been numerous cases where people have taken their lives because of being forced into a marriage. In the face of this, a law against love jihad is like a specter from authoritarian regimes. It is not just draconian, it is unfeeling and can be dangerous. Some of such key issues are-
- By clearing the ordinance, the state government has trespassed the fundamental right to marry guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution.
- Neither clan council nor khap panchayat, and certainly not a democratic government, has the licence to vet personal choices as right or wrong.
- “Love jihad” ordinance is being peddled as measures taken for the security and “respect” of women.
- Allowing the police to examine subjective “intentions” of men and women entering a marriage sets the law up for widespread abuse.
- It continues the pessimistic politics that seeks to organise Hindu unity by fuelling the anxieties about the ‘Muslim Other’ and treasures it in law.
- The law’s scrutiny is specially focussed on a woman’s change of faith reveals the patriarchal fear behind it.
- The pretentiousness of protection, indeed, masks a fear of female sexuality that will not be contained by caste and clan barriers.
- It is used to police women’s lives and choices, often by violence, as is evident in the history of “honour killings”.
