The Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Divorce) Act was a controversially named

landmark legislation passed by the parliament of India in 1986 to allegedly protect the rights of
Muslim women who have been divorced by, or have obtained divorce from, their husbands and
to provide for matters connectedtherewith or incidental thereto. The Act was passed by the Rajiv
Gandhi government to nullify the decision in Shah Bano case. This case caused the Rajiv
Gandhi government, with its absolute majority, to pass the Muslim Women (Protection
of Rights on Divorce) Act, 1986 which diluted the secular judgment of the Supreme Court and, in
reality, denied even utterly destitute Muslim divorcees the right to alimony from their former
husbands.[citation needed]
The law applies to the whole of India except Jammu and Kashmir. It is administered by any
magistrate of the first class exercising jurisdiction under the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973.
As per the Act, a divorced Muslim woman is entitled to reasonable and fair provision
and maintenance from her former husband and this should be paid within the period of iddah.
The Statement of Objects and Reasons of this Act (the objective of the Act) needs a mention.
According to the stated objects of the Act, when a Muslim divorced woman is unable to support
herself after the iddah period that she must observe after the death of her spouse or after a
divorce, during which she may not marry another man, the magistrate is empowered to make an
order for the payment of maintenance by her relatives who would be entitled to inherit her
property on her death according to Muslim Law. But when a divorced woman has no such
relatives, and does not have enough means to pay the maintenance, the magistrate would order
the State Waqf Board to pay the maintenance. The 'liability' of husband to pay the maintenance
was thus restricted to the period of the iddah only.[1][2]
1 Free legal aid
Exercise your right to free legal aid. Often, women go to the police station unaccompanied by a lawyer to
get their statement recorded, and they stand the risk of being misquoted or their statement being
tampered with. The police may also treat the entire episode lightly and not lodge an FIR. So, it is
necessary to have a lawyer with you while you lodge the FIR. According to a Delhi High Court ruling,
whenever a rape is reported, the SHO has to bring this to the notice of the Delhi Legal Services Authority.
The legal body then arranges for a lawyer for the victim, says Saumya Bhaumik, women rights lawyer.
2 Right to privacy while recording statement
Under section 164 of the Criminal Procedure Code, a woman who has been raped can record her
statement before the district magistrate when the case is under trial, and no one else needs to be present.
Alternatively, she can record the statement with only one police officer and woman constable in a
convenient place that is not crowded and does not provide any possibility of the statement
being overheard by a fourth person. The cops have to, by law, upkeep the woman's right to privacy. It's
important for the person to feel comfortable and not be under any kind of stress while narrating the
incident.