Petition seeking legal abolition of polygamy in India signed by 300 leading progressive figures
More than 300 leading Muslim activists and secular progressive citizens from across India—including women’s rights activists Zakia Soman and Noorjahan Safia Niyaz, social activists Medha Patkar, Javed Anand, Tushar Gandhi and film-maker Anand Patwardhan—signed a petition on Friday (December 5, 2025), seeking a complete legal abolition of polygamy in the country.
The petition comes within days after the release of a report on a national study conducted by the Bharatiya Muslim Mahila Andolan (BMMA), showcasing the findings of the interviews of 2,500 Muslim women victims of polygamy from seven states in the country.
“So far, only we, the Muslim women, were fighting for this. But the beauty of this petition is that this is the first time that so many other people feel similarly. This is the first time such a petition has been signed in India, and supported by the larger communities, not just the Muslims, but the secular progressive voices from other communities as well,” Zakia Soman, the founder member of Bharatiya Muslim Mahila Andolan, told The Hindu on Friday (December 5, 2025).
The petition has demanded the criminalisation of polygamy by bringing it under the ambit of Section 82 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Samhita, which provides for imprisonment of up to seven years. It has also sought mandatory registration of all marriages; guaranteed maintenance, inheritance and housing rights for women and children abandoned under polygamous arrangements; expansion of legal aid, crisis shelters, counselling and economic support for survivors; and the implementation of community-led awareness programmes to give information about the reform. “It should be ensured that the reform is rooted in dignity and justice, not stigma,” said Noorjehan Safia Niyaz from Muslim Mahila Andolan.
In India, polygamy is legally permissible for Muslim men under the Muslim Personal Law (Shariat) Application Act of 1937, allowing them to have up to four wives simultaneously, provided they treat all wives equally. For most other communities, it is prohibited and is a criminal offence.
Also read: Polygamy is not a religious practice, government tells Supreme Court
The petition, accessed by The Hindu, stated, “It is a declaration that Indian Muslim women deserve the same legal protections as every other woman in this country. It is a call rooted in constitutional morality, women’s rights, and the ethical principles of justice and equality. We stand in solidarity with the thousands of Muslim women whose voices the BMMA 2025 report amplifies. Their experiences demand action — not delay, not excuses.”
It said that at a time when polygamy was banned across all other communities in India, there was a need to treat the Indian Muslim women with equality before law and stand for their gender justice. “Muslim women must not be left with fewer rights or weaker protections. Articles 14, 15 and 21 guarantee equality, dignity, and personal liberty. No personal law can override these fundamental rights,” the petition stated.
‘Faith cannot be misused as a shield for exploitation’
Islam emphasised justice, responsibility and compassion, the petition said, adding that faith cannot be allowed to be used to exploit women and give unchecked power to men over women. It also emphasised the need for universal civil protections, saying that women should not have to fight for the rights they already enjoy. “Ensuring that marriage law applies equally to all citizens strengthens democracy and social harmony,” it said.
The document has been signed by Indian Muslims, women’s rights organisations, secular-progressive citizens, academics, activists and students. Some prominent names include Zakia Soman, Noorjehan Safia Niyaz, Medha Patkar, Javed Anand, Baba Adhav, Tushar Gandhi, Raosaheb Kasbe, Saeed Mirza, Shamsuddin Tamboli, Ram Puniyani, Feroze Mithiborwala, Dr. Yashwant Manohar, Anand Parwardhan, Zeenat S. Ali, Feroze Abbas Khan, Mallika Sarabai, Dr. Sunilam, Vibhuti Patel, Avinash Patil, Kavita Srivastava, Nikhat Azmi, Hamid Dhabholkar, Dr. Suresh Khopde, Subhash Ware, Hasina Khan, Sabah Khan, Sandhya Gokhale, Benazeer Tamboli, Vinod Sirsat, Chayanika Shah, Pratima Joshi, Masooma Ranalvi, Sultan Shaheen, Arshad Alam and Ashok Dhiware.
Findings of the report
As per the study released recently by BMMA, 85% Muslim women, surveyed wanted polygamy abolished, 87% demanded that polygamy be criminalised under law, 79% of first wives were never informed about their husband’s second marriage; 88% said the husband did not seek their consent before remarrying; 54% of first wives faced abandonment after the second marriage; 36% received no financial support thereafter; 47% were forced to return to their parental homes due to destitution; 93% demanded a complete ban on child marriage.
Giving details about the interviews of 2500 victims of polygamy conducted across seven states by the BMMA, Feroze Mithiborwala said, “The statistics reveal a system of structural injustice, not a religious or cultural obligation. The lived experiences of women across class and region show that polygamy today operates as violence, exploitation, and economic dispossession, leaving women and children vulnerable, abandoned, and without rights. The interviews give irrefutable evidence that polygamy, as practised today, inflicts widespread harm, economic injustice, emotional trauma and social insecurity upon women and children.”
The petition has called upon all the Muslim organisations and ulema; women’s groups and feminist collectives; student unions and workers’ unions; civil society networks, journalists, lawyers and academics, to sign and further the demand for a legal ban on polygamy.
Published – December 06, 2025 02:58 am IST