Topic: Triple Talaq and Muslim women’s rights
Introduction
Talaq-e-Biddat, or Triple Talaq, is a form of marriage dissolution that is practiced in Islam wherein the husband can legally divorce his wife by uttering Talaq (it’s an Arabic word that means divorce) three times in one sitting. According to Islam, marriage is a civil contract that can be dissolved if it fails to meet the purpose it serves. Triple Talaq is to be pronounced by the Muslim husband with or without the presence of his wife, irrespective of time, place, or cause. This form of divorce is stated as an unconstitutional divorce practice by the Mohammedan jurists; it is considered sinful and against the beliefs of the religion.
Understanding the verses of the Quran, it is imperative to know that Triple Talaq is not in compliance with the unambiguous commandments of the Holy Quran and cannot be held as valid constituents of Muslim personal laws. It’s also believed that the Quran asks for the husbands to be calm and collected during the divorce in order to avoid the decision being made in haste with just a gust of anger or misunderstanding. But even nowadays, most of the triple talaq cases reported were due to the husband’s sudden gust of temper or anger or on petty grounds, which, as per Islamic law, is considered sinful and even disallowed by the prophet himself.
Over the years, the reasons for giving Talaq-e-Biddat or triple Talaq have become more ridiculous. For example, a man could divorce his wife for gaining weight, not cooking properly, and many other simple reasons that not only sound petty but also are resolvable in a manner that does not require divorce as a solution. Triple talaq can be pronounced by a man just by uttering the word three times in one sitting, but the problem is that this violates the rights of the wife, whose presence or acknowledgement of the same is also not required. Men can divorce their wives from any place or at any time, and at that instance, the wife loses all her rights many times without even knowing the reason the divorce is taking place.
Ban on triple talaq and Muslim women’s rights
Every woman who is a citizen of this country has certain fundamental rights bestowed upon them, regardless of their religion, caste, etc. Divorce is the dissolution of a marriage by a court or any competent body. A divorce happens when two people no longer want to be married to each other or live together. But in the case of triple talaq, the wife’s rights are ignored, which makes it an issue that requires the intervention of the government.
A ban on triple talaq is something Muslim women have been asking for a very long time. Due to religious influence and family pressure, most of the women who had faced such practices could not raise their demands and ask for justice against the practice of triple talaq.
The famous landmark judgment of the Supreme Court in 2017 in the Shayara Bano case, wherein Ms. Shayara Bano petitioned against the practice of triple talaq, this judgment marked the first instance of the court stating that the practice was unconstitutional, arbitrary, and not a part of the Islamic culture and paved way for the triple talaq bill in India.
The Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Act, 2019 made the Supreme Court judgment on the Shayara Bano case applicable to all women by legally banning and making the practice of Talaq-e-Biddat or Triple Talaq in any form—written, oral, or by electronic means such as email or SMS—illegal and void, with up to three years of jail for the husband. Under the new law, an aggrieved woman who has been divorced is entitled to demand maintenance for her dependent children and her existence if she does not have the means to support herself. The bill was introduced in order to protect the fundamental rights of Muslim women provided to them by the constitution as citizens of the country. This practice is discriminating against women who are basically not given a choice on a matter as important as divorce; it also goes against the dignity of the women. In such a practice, marriage is considered an institution for men’s pleasure rather than the start of the family.
References:
- Shalini Mishra and Vartika Jain, Triple Talaq- Islamisation of Women And Global Perspective, https://blog.ipleaders.in/triple-talaq-2/
- Ashok Bagriya and Bhadra Sinha, SC strikes down instant triple talaq, says practice is unconstitutional, https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/supreme-court-strikes-down-triple-talaq-deems-it-against-tenets-of-islam/story-MG91Nll4c5KDOUkaFVsHEL.html
- Monesh Mehndiratta, Shayara Bano v. Union of India, https://blog.ipleaders.in/shayara-bano-v-union-of-india/
