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From Nikaah to Haq: Cinematic Narratives and Evolution of Muslim Women’s Legal Identity in India
Subject area: Arts, Social Sciences and Humanities · Area of research: Film and Legal
DOI: https://doi.org/10.64388/IREV9I11-1718498
Abstract
The legal identity of Muslim women in India has been a subject to intense judicial, political and cultural negotiation, finding a resonate platform in the “Muslim Social” genre of Hindi Cinema. This qualitative research provides a critical analysis of a evolution of these identities through a comparative study of B.R. Chopra’s Nikaah (1982) and Suparn Varma’s Haq (2025). Employing Feminist theory and the conceptual lens of legal consciousness, the study investigates how cinematic portrayals of marital practices specifically Talaq (divorce), Meher (Dowry), and maintenance reflect and shape the shifting legal landscapes from 1980s to present. The analysis reveals a transition from a religious – patriarchal discourse centred on the assertion of rights (Haq), by examining the representation of Section 125 of the code of Criminal Procedure, The Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Divorce) Act, 1986, and the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Act, 2019, the research maps a casual progression where increased cinematic “Haq Consciousness” facilitates the depiction of female agency and systemic resistance. The research demonstrates that early film industry attempts to achieve social change through individual moral training. The current film narratives show gender justice rights as inherent to citizenship while they deal with the legal system complexities that arise in a divided social and political landscape. Study concludes that Hindi cinema increasingly serves as an inter-polity forum where the Muslim women has transformed from silent victim of tradition into a rights-bearing subject of the constitutional state.
Keywords
Muslim Personal Law, Hindi Cinema, Legal Identity, Haq consciousness, Triple Talaaq, Section 125 CrPC, Feminist theory, Patriarchy, Iddat period, Protection of Marriage Act, Halala
References
[1] Muslim Women in the Digital Age: Between Representation and Reality in the Islamic Digital Media Landscape https://www.researchgate.net/publication/392906368_Muslim_Women_in_the_Digita l_Age_Between_Representation_and_Reality_in_the_Islamic_Digital_Media_Landsc ape
[2] Introduction Representation of Muslim Women in Social Media: Some Reflections from Western and Indian Media Representations Journal of Communication and Management https://www.researchgate.net/publication/383311557_Introduction_Representation_of_Muslim_Women_in_Social_Media_Some_Reflections_from_Western_and_Indian_ Media_Representations_Journal_of_Communication_and_Management https://doi.org/10.58966/JCM20243215
[3] Representation and Resistance Through Digital Media in Muslim Girl: A Coming-of-Age https://doi.org/10.29121/shodhkosh.v5.i6.2024.3677
[4] The Portrayal of Women in India https://doi.org/10.47611/jsrhs.v13i2.6762 https://www.researchgate.net/publication/383046822_The_Portrayal_of_Women_in_ Media
[5] Measuring Female Representation and Impact in Films over Time https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2001.03513
[6] Media Representation of Muslim Women in 'Time' & 'Newsweek': A Comparative Analysis within Feministic Perspective https://www.researchgate.net/publication/352998509_Media_Representation_of_Muslim_Women_in_%27Time%27_%27Newsweek%27_A_Comparative_Analysis_withi n_Feministic_Perspective
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[10] Beyond Stereotypes: Muslim Women’s Representation and Resistance across Mediaand Movements in India. https://www.ijfmr.com/research-paper.php?id=66171
How to cite this paper
@article{1718498,
author = {Poorna Chandrashekar, Dr. Bhargavi D. Hemmige},
title = {From Nikaah to Haq: Cinematic Narratives and Evolution of Muslim Women’s Legal Identity in India},
journal = {Iconic Research And Engineering Journals},
year = {2026},
volume = {9},
number = {11},
pages = {4806-4829},
issn = {2456-8880},
url = {https://www.irejournals.com/formatedpaper/1718498.pdf},
abstract = {The legal identity of Muslim women in India has been a subject to intense judicial, political and cultural negotiation, finding a resonate platform in the “Muslim Social” genre of Hindi Cinema. This qualitative research provides a critical analysis of a evolution of these identities through a comparative study of B.R. Chopra’s Nikaah (1982) and Suparn Varma’s Haq (2025). Employing Feminist theory and the conceptual lens of legal consciousness, the study investigates how cinematic portrayals of marital practices specifically Talaq (divorce), Meher (Dowry), and maintenance reflect and shape the shifting legal landscapes from 1980s to present. The analysis reveals a transition from a religious – patriarchal discourse centred on the assertion of rights (Haq), by examining the representation of Section 125 of the code of Criminal Procedure, The Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Divorce) Act, 1986, and the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Act, 2019, the research maps a casual progression where increased cinematic “Haq Consciousness” facilitates the depiction of female agency and systemic resistance. The research demonstrates that early film industry attempts to achieve social change through individual moral training. The current film narratives show gender justice rights as inherent to citizenship while they deal with the legal system complexities that arise in a divided social and political landscape. Study concludes that Hindi cinema increasingly serves as an inter-polity forum where the Muslim women has transformed from silent victim of tradition into a rights-bearing subject of the constitutional state.},
keywords = {Muslim Personal Law, Hindi Cinema, Legal Identity, Haq consciousness, Triple Talaaq, Section 125 CrPC, Feminist theory, Patriarchy, Iddat period, Protection of Marriage Act, Halala},
month = {May},
doi = {https://doi.org/10.64388/IREV9I11-1718498}
}