Family law: Flavia Agnes family laws and constitutional claims/

LAW JUSTICE, AND GENDER
The Theory and Practice of Law
The 'Justice Claims ofWomen
Examining the Contours of Feminist Legal Theory
Overview of Chapters

CHAPTER 1: PERSONAL LAWS AND WOMEN'S RIGHTS

An Overview of the Personal Law Regime

Family Laws: Customary Usages rather than Scriptural Dictates
Anglo-Saxon Jurisprudence and Ascendance of'Scriptural Law'
Matrimonial Law: From the Ecclesiastical to the Civil Law Regime
Search for Uniformity and Certainty: Legal Precedents and Statutory Codification
'Justice, Equity, and Good Conscience' and 'Public Morahty'
From Uniformity to a Culture-specific Legal Plurality

Section A: Hindu Law of Marriage and Property

Origin and Development of Hindu Law
'Hindu': An Amorphous Community
Scriptural Sources of Hindu Law ^
Colonial Legal Interventions
A Moment of Defiance: Ihe Rukhmabai Case
Social Reform Movements and Legislative Reforms
Ihe Bengal Sati Regulation Act, 1829
The Hindu Widow Remarriage Act, 1856
The Age of Consent Acts of 1860 and 1891
The Child Marriage Restraint Act, 1929
Post-Independence Hindu Law Reforms
The Opposition within the Congress Leadership
The Political Compulsions Beneath the Reforms
The Veracity of its Claim of Liberating Women
The Law of Marriage and Divorce
Hindu Marriage: A Sanskara and a Contract
The Legal Loopholes
Maintenance: Implications of Formal Equality
Restitution of Conjugal Rights and the 'Lord and Master' Concept
Consequences of Monogamy
Constitutional Challenges
On Monogamy
/Restitution of Conjugal Rights
The Law of Property
Historical Misconceptions
Stridhan Property and its Subversion
Codified Law and Illusory Inheritance Rights
Recent Amendments to the Hindu Succession Act


Section B: Islamic Law of Marriage and Succession
Origin and Development of Islamic Law
Sources of Islamic Law
The Shia and Sunni Schools
Rights of Women under Islam: Clearing the Misconceptions
Reform within Islam
Evolution of Indo-Islamic Law
Superior Status of Muslim Women during the pre-Independence Period
"pie Law of Marriage and Divorce
Nikah: A Contractual Union
Mehr: An Economic Safeguard
Forms of Dissolving Muslim Marriages
The Mandatory Stipulation of Halala
Dissolution of Muslim Marriages Act, 1939
Validity of Triple Talaq
Law of Succession

Section C: Christian Law of Atarriage and Succession
Development of Christian Law in India
Law of Marriage and Divorce
^^,^hristian Marriage: An Indissoluble Sacrament r
/^volution of the Concept of Divorce
Discriminatory Grounds of Divorce
Non-recognition of Divorce by Mutual Consent
The Process of Reform
Law of Succession
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Section D: Parsi Law ofMarriage and Succession
The Parsi Community in India
Law ofMarriage and Succession
Development ofLaw
Salient Features of the Codified Law
Judicial Pronouncements: 'Parsi' not a Religion but a Race
A Wave of Reforms during the 1930s
Reforms during the 1980s

Section E *: Jewish Law ofMarriage and Divorce
Jewish Community in India
Jews from Coastal Kerala
Jews, from the Bombay Region
The Jewish Community in North East
Origins and Development of Jewish Law
Jewish Law ofMarriage and Divorce
Judicial Interpretations of the Jewish Law

Section F: Civil Law ofMarriage and Divorce

Section G: Validity of Customary Laws
Customary Law and Women's Rights
Customary Law Versus Textual Law
'Custom' Under Codified Hindu Law and the Constitution
Inheritance Rights Under Tribal Customs
Conclusion


CHAPTER 2: CONSTITUTIONAL LAW AND CITIZENSHIP CLAIMS

Section A: Locating Women's Claims within the Constitutional Domain
Contextualising the Indian Constitution
Indian Constitution: A Covenant of Social and Economic Justice
Constitutionalism and the Power of Judicial Review
Women's Entry into the Public Domain
History ofWomen's Education in India
From Basic Literacy to Professional Education
Women's Associations and Political Participation
A.IW.C.: Educational Reforms to Political Participation
Women's Claims and Constitutional Provisions
The Preamble
Part HI: Fundamental Rights
n i. RighttoEquality: Articles 14-16
ii. Special/Favourable Treatment: Article 15 (3)
iii. Equality of Opportunity and Special Protection in Matters Relating
to Employment: Article 16
iv. Right to Life and Liberty: Article 21
V. Right against TrafEcking or Forced Labour: Article 23
Part IV: Directive Principles of State Policy
Judicial Interpretations of Constitutional Provisions
Discrimination in Employment and Service Conditions
Positive Discrimination in Favour of Women
Paternahstic Approach to the Offence of Adultery
Right to Life Includes Right to Privacy and Dignity
Provisions to Secure Social and Economic Advancement ofWomen
Reservations for Women in Local Bodies: 73rd-74th Amendment
Sexual Harassment ofWomen at Workplace: The Vishaka Guidelines
Constitutional Validity of Personal Laws

Section B: Uniform Civil Code: Contesting Claims and Communal Hues
Minority Claims within a NationaUst Agenda
Erosion of Secular Values
Hindu Law Reforms
Special Marriage Act, 1954
The Adoption BiU
Communally Tinted Judicial Pronouncements
The Shah Bano Controversy
Invalidating Triple Talaq
The Supreme Court Ruling in the Case of Hindu Bigamy
Sensational and Communalised Media Reportage
Inn„„Uve Judicial h,ecp„,„i„„ „f Mudim Women's Ac,
MnsUmWomenmd Dominant Ideologies


Section C: Attempts at Formulating the UCC
The Civil Code of Goa
Model Drafts and Legal Doctrines
Drafts by Legal Scholars
A Critique of the Proposed Drafts
Recommendations by Women's Organizations
Recommendations by Vimochana and Lawyers Collective (1988)
Recommendations by the All India Democratic Women's Association
(AIDWA) (1995)
Official Drafts and Parbamentary Trends
Bill Formulated by the National Commission for Women (1994)
Private Member's Bill (1994)
Sabent Points Emerging from the Model Drafts
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