Veil Can바카라�t Hide This Sorrow

On April 23, 1985, the Supreme Court gave a historic judgement on the Shah Bano case, enraging the clerics and the All-India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) and triggering hectic political activity. As the campaign against the verdict ordering mon­thly alimony to the mother of five from central India gained momentum, the then prime minister Rajiv Gandhi came under pressure to appease the clergy.

Thirty-two years later, triple talaq has, yet again, gained focus. The apex court is to hear from May 11 a litigation filed by a woman against a clause under the Muslim personal law that allows a man to divorce his wife by just uttering the T-word thrice. Questions crop up. Are Muslim women against triple talaq or are they against div­orce in one sitting? What about maintenance? What is the AIMPLB바카라�s stand on the sensitive issue?

Recently, a comment on the vexed matter came from none less than Salma Ans­ari, the wife of the country바카라�s Vice President Hamid  Ans­ari. 바카라�There can be no divorce just bec­ause someone utters talaq, talaq, talaq.바카라� There is no such rule in the Quran. They (clerics) have just made it up,바카라� she told the media on the sidelines of a function.

Hardly a week later, on April 16, the AIMPLB censured triple talaq in by far its strongest possible measure. In Lucknow, the 1973-founded body ann­ounced social boycott against anyone reso­rting to it. 바카라�We should as a society step in and try to regulate it,바카라� the AIMPLB바카라�s Kamal Faruqui tells Outlook. 바카라�It is bringing a bad name to the religion. So now every Friday, all imams give sermons to stop triple talaq.바카라�

Majority Muslims within and outside the AIMPLB believe that triple talaq is against the spirit of Islam and is 바카라�undesirable바카라�. According to AIMPLB working committee member S.Q.R. Ilyas, there is a rider to simultaneous talaqs. 바카라�Actua­lly, after its first or second pronouncement, there should be a 90-day waiting period in case the couple wants to reconcile.바카라� Ilyas seeks to play down the case before the highest court as it is 바카라�related to triple talaq and not talaq one at a time바카라�.

The debate, anyway, is gaining momentum as the government has signalled many times that it is in favour of a Uniform Civil Code cutting across religions. Muslims view it as an infri­ngement on their personal laws. The Allahabad high court바카라�s observations last December that triple talaq is 바카라�uncon­stitutional바카라� has only added to their worries. In fact, the stand of the AIMPLB, as an organisation tasked with the appl­icability of the Shariat Act of 1937 in the country, is clear and loud: outside int­er­ference is unacceptable.

If the Congress played Muslim appe­asement all along, the BJP is flashing a 바카라�progressive politics바카라� card on Muslims. Prime Minister Narendra Modi told party workers at the just-ended nati­onal executive in Orissa to stand by Muslim women in their struggle against triple talaq since the Constitution guarantees dignity to all.

BJP ex-MP Shahnawaz Hussain says the Modi government and the BJP share their stand on the issue. 바카라�The party is standing by the side of those Muslim women who are against triple talaq,바카라� he tells Outlook. In other words, those who are not against triple talaq also get exposed in the process as anti-woman. Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath also joined the debate when he said the other day that the politicians keeping silent on the issue were equally responsible for the continuation of the practice. There have been many instances where a woman has been summarily divorced, even in her absence.

As per the 2011 Census, 68 per cent of female divorcees in India바카라�s urban areas are Hindu, while the percentage for Muslims is 23 and 4.1 for Christians. In rural areas, the figures are 70 per cent, 21 per cent and 3.4 per cent. The maximum divorce among Hindus is in the age group 25-44 years, Muslims 20-44 and Christians 25-49 years. These figures have changed in the past six years.

That said, there is no fix on the number of women who have been abandoned by their husbands and relatives and have no means to support themselves. Faruqui says Muslim society has 바카라�minimal바카라� percentage of divorced or widowed marriageable age women because re-marriage is common and not a taboo.

A recent survey says 100 out of 13,000 Muslim women are divorced. The study held in UP, West Bengal, Delhi, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and Kerala by the Muslim Mahila Research Kendra (MMRK) in coordination with the Shariah Committee for Women, says 40 of the 100 divorce cases were initiated by the women, 18 divorces were through Darul Qaza, 10 through judicial court and 12 triple talaq cases. A total of 116 were domestic violence cases, 89 dowry cases and 62 on payment of maintenance. The majority of the harassment cases were from the lower middle class, says Dr Asma Zohra, head of the women바카라�s wing of the AIMPLB. The survey also brought on surface that a lot of Muslim women were living with their husbands for the sake of financial dependency. RTI replies of family courts of Karimnagar, Nashik, Secunderabad and Guntur, filed by the MMRK, clearly show that divorce and maintenance cases of Muslims were much less than Hindus or Christians bet­ween 2011 and 2016.

For progressive women like Asma, (name changed), who fought for her post-divorce rights through the court, the debate about divorce cases being lower among Muslims compared to Hindus or Christians is misplaced. 바카라�Don바카라�t blame the system, but hold responsible the way men practise talaq,바카라� says the 30-year-old. 바카라�There can never be real reconciliation if a man has decided not to live with his wife. Ours is an impati­ent generation. It바카라�s better to accept reality, fight for our rights and move on in life.바카라�

A large section of Muslim women fav­ours abolition of triple talaq, halala rit­ual and polygamy. They condemn triple talaq as unilateral. 바카라�It is not validated by the Quran; so it cannot be validated by the Constitution of India,바카라� says Zakia Soman of the Bharatiya Muslim Mahila Andolan. Her organisation is firm that Parliament has to abolish triple talaq. 바카라�Hal­ala, too, should become a punishable offence. Also, polygamy should be banished and custody and guardianship of children must be entitled to both, fat­her as well as mot­her; currently mother is not entitled,바카라� Soman says. Ilyas agrees with Soman on triple talaq, but asks, 바카라�Who will pronounce the judgement?바카라�

Faruqui urges the government to res­tore the institution of the Qazi, which used to be there before Independence. He also demands a survey across faiths of abandoned divorced women. 바카라�We will whole-heartedly cooperate with the government on the survey for Muslim women. We will create a corpus for them; funds will not be an issue.바카라�

While many Muslim women are willing to fight against triple talaq, a parallel door-to-door campaign was going on at least till sometime ago in support of it. Many, however, feel that the issue should be left to the community to sort out. Dr Zafrul Islam Khan, a former presi­dent of the All India Muslim Majlis-­e-Mushawarat that is a federation of the country바카라�s Muslim organisations, is completely against triple talaq, but says 바카라�non-Muslims바카라�the government, the judiciary and Parliament바카라�shouldn바카라�t inter­fere in it since Islamic jurists acce­pted this centuries ago.바카라�

A Jamiat Law Institute is being set up to teach Islamic law. 바카라�The Muslims are trying to do their bit at their level, but they need to do much more as a progressive society,바카라� says Shakil Ahmad Syed, the director of the institute in Delhi.