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Why I, a Muslim woman and BJP leader, thank PM Modi for raising the issue of triple talaq

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Hina Bhat
Hina BhatJun 05, 2017 | 20:40

Why I, a Muslim woman and BJP leader, thank PM Modi for raising the issue of triple talaq

Triple talaq also known as talaq-e-mughallazah - irrevocable divorce that is practiced by Muslims in India - is a controversial subject and being debated ever since Prime Minister Narendra Modi raised the issue.

The government of India and the Supreme Court have been involved in addressing the issues of justice, gender equality, human rights and secularism.

The online petition against triple talaq has been signed by 50,000 Muslim men and women across the country.  

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The life of a woman comes crashing down when her husband, by saying the word "talaq" thrice, abandons her. The practice has been outlawed in many Muslim majority nations, but is permitted in India under the Muslim Personal Law (Shariat) Application Act, 1937.

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Their sufferings are ignored comepletely by an orthodox and patriarchal society.

According to this act, in matters of personal disputes, the state will not intervene and a religious authority will instead pass the judgment. As many as 60 per cent of divorces that have happened under triple talaq has left the women to fend for herself and her children.

India has no uniform civil code. Men go "scot-free" and like to believe their action is approved by the Quran. They find it so easy to dump their wives, sometimes even via an SMS.

Triple talaq is a much bigger issue in which Muslim women were never given any say. Their sufferings ignored completely by an orthodox and patriarchal society, which believes in dominating the rights of women and stone-walling any attempt towards reforms.

When Pakistan, Bangladesh and many other Islamic countries could ban the practice of, why not India?

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Why should women in India suffer despite India being home to world's third-largest Muslim population governed by the sharia or Islamic jurisprudence and it has been the so since the British colonial rule? India's 90 million Muslim women face the threat of sudden, oral and out-of-court divorce.

Quran, in reality, demands time and patience in executing a divorce in the hope of making the union possible knowing that couples are bound to have differences. The quranic message is very explicit about divorce. It leans more towards safeguarding marriage than dissolving it abruptly. The chapter on women in the Quran draws attention to the need for arbitration before the husband and wife decide to part ways.

In the event of triple talaq, where does the chance of arbitration, as stated in the Quran, stand? The Quran sets certain norms to execute divorce, just as there are norms to sanctify a marriage.

Muslim men should read the complete chapter devoted to divorce in the Quran — Surah al-Talaq.

For Muslim women, the the deep-ingrained misogyny takes an additional, violent turn with triple talaq. Muslim women have limited freedom. The system — which entitles the men of the family to protect the honour and chastity of women — gives them the power to "punish" women with practices such as polygamy.

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I fear for the safety of women and want to raise the issue in the hope that all women and even men would make the valuable contribution to the community by standing up against triple talaq.

Women are the backbone of this country, don't let them suffer. Triple talaq must be abolished. 

Last updated: June 05, 2017 | 20:42
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