Unequal Citizens of a Liberal Democracy

In almost every culture and society globally, women are victims of discrimination and suppression manifested in different spheres of socio-economic, political, cultural, and religious life and activity to varying degrees. Their socially and culturally assigned roles, status, and rights, have always been a subject of serious concern for academics, scholars, intelligentsia, activists, development authorities, and policymakers. The international community, more than ever, is now very sensitive to all issues concerning women’s human rights. Muslims are the largest and principal minority in India. But the mainstream society knows meager about their lives, diversity, religious and constitutional rights, and socio-legal movements for liberation, equity, and justice. One of the reasons for the inadequacy of data on Muslim women’s social history in this century is their absence from public life. Moreover, the general lack of research on minority women worldwide reveals the marginalisation of their experiences. This piece reflects on a contemporary profile of Indian Muslim women, emphasizing some of the critical sociological and anthropological aspects that have drawn widespread media attention recently. It also explores the underlying causes of their subordination, inequality, and exclusion, which act as a barrier to play a constructive role in society, in the context of Indian constitutionalism.