PALAKKAD: In the quiet but high-spirited room of the Mannarkkad Sub Registrar Office, where friends and dear ones gathered with gentle smiles, Basheer ‘Master’ and Hasanath ‘Teacher’ said “yes” to each other –– again.
Fifty-five years after they first tied the knot in a simple nikah, the retired education officer and his lifelong companion ‘renewed’ their vows. On Monday, they married for equality.
Basheer, 76, a former district education officer in Alappuzha, and Hasanath, 72, who retired from KTM High School, Mannarkkad, had been married for over half a century. Yet, there were no official documents of their marriage –– neither at a mosque nor in a government office.Under Muslim Personal Law, inheritance for daughters is unequal; sons inherit twice the share of daughters, and if there are no sons, distant male relatives can claim a portion.
Basheer and Hasanath, parents of two sons and daughter, could not accept that. So, they decided to register their marriage under the Special Marriage Act (SMA) –– a secular law that brings equality to inheritance under the Indian Succession Act, ensuring that all children, regardless of gender, have equal rights to their parents’ property.
“We have done what we had to do for our daughter,” Basheer said, smiling at Hasanath next to him. “But this marriage is also a message to others –– that religion and equality need not be enemies.”
Remarriage is not without precedent –– but it is still rare and deeply symbolic. Their action echoes the path taken by C Shukkur and Dr Sheena, a well-known couple from Kasaragod who made national headlines a couple of years ago.
Married under Islamic rites since 1994, the Shukkurs re-registered their marriage under the SMA on International Women’s Day, to secure equal inheritance rights for their daughters.Their decision, though met with both applause and outrage –– including a fatwa –– sparked an important public conversation about faith, law, and gender justice. For nearly a decade, Basheer and Hasanath have been running a shelter home –– Sujeevanam –– for women in Payyanadam, near Mannarkkad.
For their friends, the event was more than sentimental; it was revolutionary in its simplicity. “It’s a love story that continues to evolve,” said one of their close friends who witnessed the signing.
“They didn’t just live together, they chose to live by their principles.” Basheer’s life as an educator was built on questioning dogma and promoting rational thought. Hasanath stood firm in his every decision, including this one. “He never imposed his ideas,” she said softly. “But I always believed in his sense of fairness.”
