What is Triple talaq controversy? Know about facts and status of bill in SC

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What is Triple talaq controversy? Know about facts and status of bill in SC
What is Triple talaq controversy? Know about facts and status of bill in SC

New Delhi : Be it the present Pakistan's Prime Minister Imran Khan's divorce story where he text message 'Talaq' thrice and parted with his wife, or the Shah Bano case in India, marriages in Muslim law has been tarnished time and again by this age-old 'Triple Talaq' controversial concept.

What is triple talaq

Talaq is an Arabic text in Muslim Laws, and it means separation from husband and any bond associated with the marriage. It is done in accordance with the rules laid down by the Sharia law in Sunni Islam. Triple talaq is a form of divorce whereby a Muslim man could legally divorce his wife pronouncing talaq three times. The pronouncement could be oral or written, delivered by telephone, SMS, email or social media. However, the concept of three divorce does not exist in the holy Quran.

Why is triple talaq controversial?

A survey conducted by Bharatiya Muslim Mahila Andolan (BMMA) suggests that 92% of Muslim women in India want the practice of ‘triple talaq’ to end. In 2016, Triple talaq was in news after a when 35-year-old Shayara Bano from Kashipur, Uttarakhand, filed a petition in the Supreme Court to question the sanctity of 'talaq’. In her controversial case, she mentioned that her husband divorced her in 1978.

But even after winning the case at the Supreme Court of India, Bano was subsequently denied alimony because the Rajiv Gandhi regime enacted the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Divorce) Act, 1986, which set aside the Shah Bano verdict and reversed the judgement under pressure from Islamic orthodoxy

Also, in an Assam election, held few years back, a Muslim man, Ainuddin, reportedly divorced his wife Dilwara Begum who refused the village order by not voting for Congress, but for a BJP candidate instead.  

Triple talaq is controversial issue in India and lately, a Congress member of Parliament Hussain Dalwai sparked a fire by defending triple talaq, saying that even Lord Ram doubted Sita and abandoned her, but he later apologised for his remark. Apologising for his remark, Dalwai said: "Whatever remark I made was wrong and I have apologise. I didn't want to hurt anybody's sentiment. It was being intentionally politicised."

Important facts about triple talaq bill

Muslim women have long questioned that the law dishonoured their right to equality, saying that they have been left penniless by husbands divorcing them with a "triple talaq" messages. And a sense of relief came when India's Supreme Court has banned the 'triple talaq' Muslim law 

The Union Cabinet on August 9 has cleared some amendments to draft Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Bill, 2017. The amendments came after SC, on August 22, 2017, trun down the issue calling unconstitutional. The Lok Sabha has passed the triple talaq bil in December, last year.

All India Muslim Women Personal Law Board has argued against the horrendous practice with claims like it is intolerable since it is against the Quran and the constitution. Other Muslim women bodies too have been opposing the bill, mentioning that this divorce law does not give any chance to save the marriage.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, a Hindu nationalist, backed the petitioners in the case, saying that it was discriminatory against women. BJP has been approaching for a uniform civil code, but the issue remains highly sensitive in India.