Dinesh Kamath's Editorial 'Triple talaq practise is not fair for women' that was published in Newsband

Triple talaq practise is not fair for women

Earlier Muslim men could just utter the word talaq thrice and divorce their wives. This method of divorcing was rendered legally invalid by the Shamim Ara vs State of UP judgment of 2002 and subsequent orders from various High Courts. But this has not stopped the practice; many Muslim women are unaware of the judgments.

In the absence of triple talaq, many Muslim couples have to undergo the time-consuming legal proceedings The All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB), a body with no legal status, has long argued that divorce under Islamic law is undesirable and that triple talaq is a sin.

In truth, there is no sanction for the triple talaq in the Koran, triple talaq practice has been either explicitly derecognised in Muslim-majority countries such as Indonesia, Iran and Tunisia or implicitly in countries such as Pakistan, which provides for a mandatory arbitration procedure after the pronouncement of talaq.

The AIMPLB, says that “personal laws cannot be challenged”.  But the Supreme Court should not hesitate to rule this practice as illegal.

As per Islamic law Men can have instant divorce by triple talaq, but women can only apply for divorce to the sharia courts and only they in consultation with husband give divorce. Child custody is always with male, women have custody only until suckling.

Those Muslim men who continue to practise triple talaq give the impression that there is no respect for women in their community and so all the women should come forward for their own right.

It is strange that AIMPLB, a non-statutory body, secures the priority and locus standi to file its versions as if they are the only body of intellectuals well-versed in Islamic texts and entitled to express the personal views of the entire Muslim community in the country. Opposite views also deserve to be recorded. The AIMPLB’s mind-set is warped in antiquity without provable evidences to stand by its statements. This organisation is only perpetuating perennial slavery for women.