Prime Minister Narendra Modi has rightly tweeted saying, “Judgement of the Hon’ble SC on Triple Talaq is historic. It grants equality to Muslim women and is a powerful measure for women empowerment.” For the first time all major political parties have voiced their support for abolition of Triple Talaq. In fact, in the Quran, the very conception of humankind is based on an equal footing between man and woman. No religion is above the country. Triple talaq is an obnoxious and medieval practice to grant illegal rights to a husband and has absolutely no sanction in the Quran.
The SC is right when it says that the triple talaq in one sitting violates the fundamental rights of Muslim women, as it irrevocably ends marriage without any chance of reconciliation. Our marriages of whatever religion has always got sanctity and just because of the barbaric rule the relationship cannot be broken. Marriage is a sacrament and divorce is an inhuman act. Muslims consider it the most sinful form of ‘talaq ul biddat’ – triple talaq. Muslim personal laws needs to be refurbished.
India has separate sets of personal laws for each religion governing marriage, divorce, succession, adoption and maintenance. While much of the Hindu law overhaul began in the 1950s and continues, activists have long argued that Muslim personal law has remained mostly unchanged.
Any sensible person would agree that the practice of triple talaq needs to be abolished because of the way it results in the abuse of women. The real temper of the country was to bring an end to triple talaq. People do not want any discrimination on the basis of any religious faith against women. Women cannot be treated as “secondary citizens in India”. It is indeed unfortunate that a majority of women in India are still tortured and dehumanized. Divorce laws in India are such that there are cases of harassment of women by men by not giving divorce and limits opportunities for remarriage and the vice versa. Any rational person would agree that the practice of triple talaq needs to be abolished because of the way it results in the abuse of women.
It is equally important to have a common law for all that gives more opportunity to women. India is a patriarchal society and that women have to wait for days and years in courts to solve the problems relating to divorce. The SC being the highest authority has every right to intervene if any discriminatory and regressive doctrine is prevalent and comes in the way of denying communities access to equal opportunities. Harsh abruptness of triple talaq has brought extreme misery to the divorced women and even to men who are left with no chance to undo the wrong. No discrimination against a woman is possible just because she is a woman. Law can be framed only to improve the lot of women. The law that allows triple talaq is one such law and was needed to be abolished.
(The views expressed by the author in the article are his/her own.)
