A Depiction of Indian Muslim Women’s Plight in Culture and Literature Around the Mid-Eighteen Century

Abstract

This paper locates the Muslim women’s social conditions particularly in the Indo-Pak Subcontinent which largely arose out of two sources; a) evolution of Islam and development of several schools of jurisprudence; b) Muslim’s contact with the Indian culture. Over several centuries, more particularly from the early 13th century onward (by this time, Muslim Turkish rule had been established in India), and the impact of Bhakti movement both on Hindus and Muslims and spread of teachings of Guru Nanak and Bhagat Kabir, Muslims came to adopt many of the Hindu notions and practices. This was in addition to attitudes that came with them by their conversion to Islam. The first part of the paper deals with the effects of Hindu culture regarding status of women on Muslims. The second part of the paper discusses the plight of Muslim women in literature i.e Punjab folk lore of Heer Ranjha. It tries to convey the thoughts on several social customs, particularly emphasizing the various aspects of women’s life. The third part provides the ethnographic evidence which confirms that women, particularly in rural areas, have faced low status and problem connected with rapes, marriages, dowry, and divorces, etc. With solidification of customs, discrimination against a female endures through centuries. As a result, Muslim women were become socially backward, economically susceptible, and politically marginalized segment of society.