Author: Syeda Muneeba Masood
Assalam o Alaikum,
Dear Brothers & Sisters in Islam
Islam has given equal rights to men and women. Marriage is one of the very important and sensitive decisions of one’s life. Islam has given a glad tiding to women that marriage without the consent of a woman is invalid (Haram). Therefore it is necessary for the parents, guardian, or family members to seek permission from the woman before making or finalizing her marriage bond.
After 1425 years of Islam, still we see many illiterate families which are following the so-called cultures of their ancestors and do not bother to ask girls before tying them into a marriage bond. Such negligence causes a lot of grievances in their own families and society; such marriages have a poor end!
Marriage of a minor girl (who is not an adult) can be performed without her consent. But after she becomes an adult, she can cancel the marriage relationship.
Before Islam, it was a usual practice to take over the woman whose husband would die. But Islam forbade this practice. In Muslim rural areas and villages of the Subcontinent, it is still a practice to kill the woman as soon as her husband dies. This custom is called ‘Karo Kaari’. In these areas, widow woman is considered to be a blaspheme. Islamic Dawah organizations should visit these areas and teach their residents about the Islamic wisdom where a woman is still deprived of false pagan traditions much resembling Hinduism.