Personal Law

Introduction on Personal Law:

"Personal Laws" is a common legacy of colonialism and liberation from colonialism in countries of South Asia. The regime of "personal laws" originated in the political domain in periods of political and territorial conquest. Both conquered and conquering people carried with them, laws which were "personal" to them. While the constitutional provisions of these countries vary widely i.e, some are democratic and secular and others theocratic in the sense that they proclaim a State religion, their colonial legacy ensured that they inherited a common problem of plural legal systems. One was a secular legal system of laws and courts dealing with the public domain namely trade commerce and business and the other a system of laws dealing with the so called private domain of the family. This latter branch of laws has come to be known as "personal laws".

There exists no precise definition of "personal laws'. In substance laws that apply to individuals by virtue of the religion to which they belong are "personal laws". Given that most laws governing the family are rooted in the religion to which the person belongs, personal laws ended up being based on religion. These laws relating to the regulation of family, define the family and thus constitute it as a heterosexual unit that has legal sanction to cohabit through the recognition of marriage, legitimise procreation, determine the rights of individuals within it as wives, mothers, sisters, brothers and widows and regulate inheritance. As a result of seclusion and segregation from the public intervention, "personal laws" were highly discriminatory against women. And yet, most Constitutions around the world guarantee the right to equality and non-discrimination based on sex. Thus it is imperative to study why women remain unequal despite the constitutional guarantee of equality.