An interview with Sona Khan, Senior Advocate, Supreme Court of India

International IDEA is interviewing experts who are or have been involved in a constitution-building process. They speak about their experiences, whether objectives were reached, what could have been done differently or better and what others can learn from these experiences. As the international community is increasingly involved in promoting state and peace building through constitutional processes, these reflections will be of particular value to them.

Sona Khan is a former judge and now practices as an Advocate before the Supreme Court of India. She is a distinguished legal scholar, especially on Islamic jurisprudence and is an advocate of women's empowerment through the law. She was instrumental in the landmark Shahbano case, which raised the issue of how to weigh a woman's rights to maintenance after divorce against India's separation of civil and religious law.