A marriage to usurp women’s inheritance right

Marriage with the Quran is often presented as a religious ceremony where the bride is revered and idealised as a religious figure. However, it can be seen as a custom that is the creation of a patriarchal order, which is legitimised through the use of religious sentiments to avoid questioning. In Islamic tradition, there are no nuns or women married to the Holy Quran. The Quran encourages widows and divorcees to remarry at the first opportunity.

Despite this, the prevalent practice of haq bakshwana i.e. marriage to the Quran remains unquestioned, unchallenged and irrevocable. Once a girl is married to the Quran, she can never resume her role as a normal woman, and she is prohibited from withdrawing from this mock marriage or remarrying. This practice points towards a misogynistic politics in which women are trapped and confined within so-called religious walls.

In this type of marriage, young girls are encouraged to commit themselves to the memorisation of the Quran. Subsequently, their families arrange a ceremony to formalise the girl’s union with the sacred text. During this ritual, the girl places her hand on the Quran and solemnly vows to be wedded to it for life.

These women are known as the ‘wives of the Quran’ because their families force them into a marriage with the Quran itself, instead of allowing them to marry a person of the opposite sex. Why so? It’s a straightforward but selfish reason. This way, the family can retain their property rather than sharing it with the girls upon their marriage. To associate such a selfish and inhumane practice with the Quran is questionable in itself, but doing it solely for financial gain makes the situation even more troubling.

Families that marry their daughters to the Quran often believe it is a way to safeguard their property from being divided. This can lead to disputes and divisions among heirs, with potential consequences for the economic stability of families.

An incident reported by Pakistan Press International tells the story of Zubaida Ali, who witnessed a strange ceremony in her ancestral village in Sindh some years ago. In this ceremony, her cousin Fareeba was symbolically married to the Quran. It was an unusual and, in many ways, a sad event. Fareeba, a beautiful 25-year-old girl at the time, was dressed like a traditional bride, wearing red, sequined clothing, jewelry and henna patterns on her hands and feet. However, she was also covered in a dark chaadar (veil). There was music and many guests, but notably, there was no groom. Unfortunately, as a result of this symbolic marriage to the Quran, Fareeba can never marry a man. She spends most of her time either studying the Quran or working on sewing. She is a hafiza which means she has memorised the entire Quran by heart.

There are significant legal dimensions to curb this practice. The so-called “marriage to the Quran” is punishable by an imprisonment of 3 to 7 years according to the Prevention of Anti-women Practices Act 2011. It criminalises such marriages in Pakistan. However, the clandestine nature of these marriages makes it challenging for authorities to identify and prosecute those responsible.

The practice is more common among wealthy and powerful families of the region. Its original purpose was to prevent women from inheriting property and to avoid it passing to outsiders through daughters or sisters, like their spouses or children. According to sources in Islamabad, around 10,000 girls are reported in Sindh to have been subjected to these symbolic marriages to the Quran.

The practice of marriage to the Quran has various economic implications, including the denial of property and inheritance rights for women, potential deterrents to marriage and family formation, a lack of awareness regarding legal rights and the influence of cultural norms on women’s economic opportunities. These issues require a combination of legal reforms, awareness campaigns and efforts to challenge practices and address gender-based economic inequalities.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 8^th, 2023.

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