UCA News
Contribute

India abandons law to ban instant divorce among Muslims 

Ruling Bharatiya Janata Party accused of not being serious about passing talaq bill in parliament
India abandons law to ban instant divorce among Muslims 

Muslim women stage a demonstration Jan. 4 in New Delhi seeking to review a bill aiming to ban instant verbal divorce, called triple talaq, among Muslims. (Photo by Bidesh Manna/IANS)

Published: January 08, 2018 04:59 AM GMT
Updated: January 08, 2018 05:01 AM GMT

India’s move to criminalize instant divorce among Muslims hit an obstacle when the ruling pro-Hindu Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) abandoned a bill in the upper house of parliament amid raging resistance from Muslim groups.

The Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Bill 2017 could not be passed in the house during a noisy debate on Jan. 3.

The bill seeks to ban instant divorce or triple talaq, a practice that allows Muslim men to divorce their wives by just saying the word talaq (divorce) three times. Some men have also used telephone calls and text messages to seek divorce under the practice.

Opposition parties in the upper house wanted the bill to be referred to a select panel for further scrutiny. The government has rejected the demand, terming it unconstitutional.

The Congress party accused the ruling BJP of not being serious about getting the bill passed in parliament.

But despite all 18 opposition parties demanding a vote on sending the bill to a select committee, the BJP ignored their calls and did not start the process on Jan. 4, Congress leader Pramod Tiwari said.

“The BJP has neither the policy nor the intention to get the triple talaq bill passed in parliament," he told reporters.

India’s top court banned talaq in August but the ban is valid only for six months until February. A law needs to be enacted to end the misogynistic practice that leaves women with injustice and poverty, the government argues. 

However, Muslim organizations are accusing the federal government, led by the BJP, of interfering in the religious affairs of Muslims with a view to demonizing their religious practices. 

Several Muslim-dominated countries such as Pakistan and Bangladesh have banned the practice, but most of India’s 170 million Muslims follow a specific Islamic school of law called Hanafi Islam, which allows the practice. 

After the Supreme Court termed talaq “unconstitutional” and recommended a law to abolish it, the bill was prepared. It was passed in the lower house of parliament or Lok Sabha on Dec. 28.

The bill would make triple talaq a crime punishable with up to three years in jail. 

Ghulam Ahmad Mir, leader of the Congress party in Muslim-majority Jammu and Kashmir, said the bill aimed to harass Muslims. 

“It wants to send Muslim men to jail without any chance of bail, but who will take care of the families of the jailed men?” Mir asked.

Muslim organizations such the Popular Front of India have opposed the bill, calling it state interference and unconstitutional as it interferes with a religious practice. 

Front leader Abu Bakar said the bill was drafted without consultation with affected parties including Muslim women.

India’s Muslim Personal Law Board, which deals with the application of Islamic law in personal affairs, has slammed the government’s move, saying the bill makes divorce among Muslims more complex. 

Spokesman Maulana Khalilur Rahman Sajjad Nomani told the media on Jan. 3 that the board supports opposition parties that pressed for sending the bill to an expert committee to remove its shortcomings. 

Published data shows that Muslim women in India are the least educated and employed and many are forced marry before the age of 15. Just 1.5 percent of Muslim women have qualifications above secondary school, according to a study by the Indian Institute of Public Administration.

The government census of 2011 shows that 13.5 per cent of Muslim women are married before 15 years of age and 49 percent between 14 to 19 years. 

Across all religious communities, more women remain divorced than men, according to census data.

However, the percentage is higher among Muslims. For every Muslim man living divorced, there are four women who remain divorced, it showed. 

Some 95 percent of women divorced through talaq do not get any compensation from their husbands, according to a survey conducted by Bharatiya Muslim Mahila Andolan, a movement of Indian Muslim women. It said 92 percent of Muslim women want talaq banned.

Help UCA News to be independent
Dear reader,
Lent is the season during which catechumens make their final preparations to be welcomed into the Church.
Each year during Lent, UCA News presents the stories of people who will join the Church in proclaiming that Jesus Christ is their Lord. The stories of how women and men who will be baptized came to believe in Christ are inspirations for all of us as we prepare to celebrate the Church's chief feast.
Help us with your donations to bring such stories of faith that make a difference in the Church and society.
A small contribution of US$5 will support us continue our mission…
William J. Grimm
Publisher
UCA News
Asian Bishops
Latest News
UCA News Catholic Dioceses in Asia
UCA News Catholic Dioceses in Asia
UCA News Catholic Dioceses in Asia