Indian Muslims need stronger resolve to strike down triple talaq
The debate over the codification of Muslim personal law could not have come at a more decisive moment.
With the ascension of Yogi Adityanath in Uttar Pradesh and the saffron surge across the country, the community finds itself under siege. And this, indeed, is an opportunity for the saner and progressive elements within the community to stand up to the All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) and counter the narrative that Muslims will never accept any attempts to "reform".
The Supreme Court too has said it would hold daily sittings (between May 11 and May 19) to conclude hearings on the legality of triple talaq. The apex court's resolve to settle the matter underlines the importance that the issue has come to enjoy under the current circumstances.
It also suggests that the issue cannot be ignored anymore, not to mention the fact that the obnoxious practice should have been done away with long back.
It is also an opportunity for the influential and saner voices within the community to assert themselves and persuade the clergy, especially the All India Muslim Personal Law Board to take a lead in abolishing triple talaq and making divorce laws more gender-friendly.
Muslim women should also have the same rights that their counterparts from other communities do when it comes to marriage and divorce. The failure to do so will not only make the AIMPLB's position extremely untenable, but also call into question the very rationale of its existence.
There is already a growing feeling within large sections of the community that this body has become obsolete in today's times.
There has been a remarkable change in the attitude within the community, especially among the women when it comes to discriminatory practices like the triple talaq.
The movement against the much-abused practice has been led by Muslim women with their menfolk increasingly lending their voices to the demand.
In 1986, former Union minister Arif Mohammad Khan argued passionately in Parliament in support of the Supreme Court verdict in the Shah Bano case, but his voice was drowned out (as the Rajiv Gandhi did a U-turn under pressure of the AIMPLB and brought a bill to nullify the verdict).
On account of the rampant misuse of the triple talaq provision, there is a strong undercurrent against it within the community and the AIMPLB would do itself and the community a world of good to amend its position on the issue.
It's a shame that India is yet to strike down this practice even though Muslim countries such as Egypt, Iraq and Pakistan banned it years ago.