REMARK OF THE CHIEF JUSTICE

Mr. Y.V. Chandrachud Ex-Chief Justice May 14, 1986 A-503 Som Vihar R.K. Puram New Delhi 110 022 Dear Mr. Chandrachud, I am taking the liberty of addressing myself to you because, on going through your verdict on the Muhammad Ahmad-Shah Bano case, I find that one of the statements you make casts unfair aspersions on Islam. You allege that women have been “traditionally” subjected to unjust treatment, and that the “fatal point in Islam is the degradation of woman.” To support this, you quote Manu as having stated that woman did not “deserve independence,” and the Prophet of Islam as having said, “Woman was made from a crooked rib, and, if you try to bend it straight it will break; therefore, treat your wives kindly.” While Manu’s dictum bears out your statement, I must point out that you have badly misquoted the Prophet. Nowhere in the Hadith is it stated that woman was made from a crooked rib, this being an ancient biblical version of God’s creation of human life. The word “rib” was used by the Prophet in a purely metaphorical sense and his actual words were: “Woman is like a rib, if you try to straighten her out, she will break, so treat her kindly.” The Encyclopaedia Britannica states: “With respect to personality traits, men are characterized by greater aggressiveness, dominance and achievement motivation, women by greater dependency, a stronger social orientation and the tendency to be more easily discouraged by failure than men” (19/907). Presumably the Prophet, with his great understanding of human nature, had a fine intuitive grasp of the fundamental, biological and psychological differences between men and women, particularly the latter’s fragility and passivity — and, for this reason, found it necessary to admonish lesser men to treat their wives kindly. I fail to see how “the degradation of women” can ensue from such an injunction. It would be fitting, to say the least, if you were now to retract, or amend, your statement, now that this point has been clarified. I remain, Yours faithfully, Wahiduddin Khan