Triple Talaq: What's The Way Forward?

The stir surrounding the triple talaq reform, last year, was not the first to have taken place in the course of Indian history. Women have been raising objection against the practice of triple talaq, which puts them and their marriage under a vulnerable state of being annulled anytime. Triple Talaq was practiced by the Muslim men in India which enabled them to divorce their wife legally by uttering the word ‘talaq’ three times. Triple talaq has been misused by the Muslim men to divorce their wives over messages, phone call and even video calls.

The controversy surrounding triple talaq picked up the pace in 2016 when Shayara Bano, a victim of the unjust custom filed a petition in the court,to scrap away the practice of triple talaq. The other two practices which she demanded to be quashed, in her petition included polygamy and Nikah Halala, the latter requires a woman to marry another man, consummate the marriage and then divorce the man (followed by a period of iddat) in order to re marry her husband.Other three cases of the women who filed a petition against the triple talaq were tagged together with the Shayara Bano case and scrutinized under by a bench. (Iddat- A duration of three month during which a woman may not remarry).

A 5-judge bench of Supreme court passed the judgement in favour of the Shayara Bano case, declaring the practice of triple talaq as unconstitutional and illegal on August 22, 2017. An ordinance came into effect, for six months, with the President’s assent. BJP government has been a staunch supporter of the new reform within the Muslim community. Following the controversy, the BJP government swept in introducing a fresh bill on criminalizing the practice of triple talaq to replace the ordinance issued in September, last year. The bill was passed in the Lok Sabha. However, the government failed to pass the bill in the Rajya Sabha and repromulgated the second ordinance in 2019. The ordinance is set to cease on June 3. BJP’s agenda behind supporting the Muslim women had been attributed to be a part of a larger vote bank politics for the ongoing Lok Sabha polls.

Whereas the opposition party has been opposing the bill. They claim that the BJP government fails to provide any provision to guarantee any kind of financial supports to the wives of the jailed husbands. The opposition has claimed to scrap the law if elected to the power. They even accused the government of creating a rift between the Muslim men and women

The All India Muslim Personal Board (AIMPB) is a body that regulates the laws regarding the Indian Sunni Muslims. It emerged in total opposition of the Supreme court’s verdict. State interference within the religious matters did not go down well with the board. They have rather come up with bizarre facts and claims to oppose the ban.

• They argued that with a ban on this practice Muslim men may come up with even sinful ways to torture their wifes.

• Another claim stated that it has been a matter of religious faith in Muslim community for centuries.

The political angle to the controversy was evident when Ishrat Jahan, one of the triple talaq crusaders, joined the BJP government last year. She was told that she would be provided with a ticket to the Lok Sabha elections from Uluberia constituency in Howrah district. While we are occupied by frenzy of the on going polls, Ishrat Jahaan, without a ticket, still finds it difficult to meet the financial needs for her family. And a similar financial tension can be seen at Shayaro Bano’s end, with her jailed husband unable to provide with the financial security. With promises and hopes: false, politicized or true, reaching to them, at lot has been put on stake for these crusaders who continue to fight their own battles everyday.

A politicized move by the government or not! The unveiling of the BJP manifesto disclosed a section devoted to the women empowerment, adressing the issues related to Muslim marriage and divorce practices. However, the future of the Muslim women still lies in uncertainity, oblivious of the next ruling party that will come to the power.