NEW DELHI – India’s Supreme Court on Tuesday, August 22, ruled that the practice of “triple talaq”, known as instant divorce, resorted to by some Muslim men, is unconstitutional, calling it “un-Islamic”.
Hasina Khan, founder of the Beebak Collective which fought against triple talaq, called the verdict “historic”.
“We are extremely happy. Muslim women have struggled for years,” she told the BBC.
Three of the five Supreme Court judges called the controversial practice “un-Islamic, arbitrary and unconstitutional,” the BBC reported on Tuesday.
One of the judges, Justice Kurien Joseph, said triple talaq was not an essential part of Islam and enjoyed no protection.
The judges also said it was “manifestly arbitrary” to allow a man to “break down (a) marriage whimsically and capriciously”.
The judgement is being widely hailed as a major win for Muslim women and women’s rights.
“I have felt the pain when family breaks. I hope no one has to go through this situation in future,” Shayara Bano, one of the main petitioners, told reporters.
Zakia Soman, an activist from Bharatiya Muslim Mahila Andolan, another of the groups which contested the practice, said Indian women of many religions had supported them.
“It’s a historic day for us, but it doesn’t end here,” she said.
The All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) said it will hold internal deliberations before releasing an official stand on this Supreme Court verdict.
Meanwhile, an executive member of the body said the judgment will have “wide ramifications” as it has affects on the religious rights of minority groups.
“It will change the entire landscape of Muslim families. It’s now in the mainstream and will protect not only women, but children. Families will be more stable because children will also be protected,” Chandra Rajan, an advocate for the group, told the BBC.
Muslims account for 160 million of India’s 1.1 billion people, the world’s third-largest Muslim population after those of Indonesia and Pakistan.
In India, divorce and marriage issues are under the control of the All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB), the single largest religious body consisting of scholars of different schools of thought.
The AIMPLB was formed in 1973 to protect and apply Muslim Personal Law in marriage, divorce, succession and inheritance.
In 2005, Shiites and women seceded to form their own separate Boards, the All India Shiite Personal Law Board & the All India Muslim Women’s Personal Law Board.
Over the past year, Indian scholars have issued a group of laws to protect the rights of Muslim women.
In February 2015, a group of Muslim scholars and activists announced plans for a draft of personal law that would ban triple talaq and restrict polygamy among Indian Muslims.
The personal law also calls for the mandatory registration of all Muslim marriages with the state governments.
One month later, during an international Islamic jurisprudence seminar organized by Islamic Fiqh Academy (India), hundreds of Muslim scholars granted women the right to dissolve marriage in the case of a serious breach of agreement between the couple.
According to scholars such as Ibn Taymiyyah and Ibn al-Qayyim, triple divorces that are pronounced concurrently shall be considered only as a single divorce.
Muslim scholars maintain that anyone who divorces his wife three times in one occasion has committed a sin.
It is reported that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) became very angry when he was informed that a man had divorced his wife by pronouncing it three times on one occasion.
Read More:
- Valid Reasons for Divorce in Islam
- What Is the Ruling on Triple Divorce?
- A Muslim Woman Shares Her Experience after Divorce