Triple talaq likely to be relegated to history

In addition, the AIPMLB meet will also initiate revolutionary changes in Muslim marriage law, sources discolsed.

Once the draft gets the AIPMLB’s expected nod, it will signal the end of a long-standing tradition still being zealously preserved by some Muslim groups.

According to scholars, the original Islamic law (Shari’a) does not provide for such talaq. The practice of triple talaq was originally supposed to be used only in extreme situations.

The practice, however, was gradually allowed to be a tool for instant divorce, despite the Koran and Hadith explicitly ordering abundant caution and patience before divorcing. It had deteriorated to the level of many Muslim men effecting divorce without a notice or even without the presence of the wife herself.

A divorced or widowed Muslim woman faces other disadvantages too. A man can remarry soon after divorce or death of his wife but women have to complete the period iddat (four months and 10 days) for remarrying. If she was pregnant, the iddat period would extend till delivery.

The NCW report based on hearings all over the country on the status of minority women has indicated that the liberal provisions of divorce in Islamic law was being misused by many men just to oppress women. The report said that the stories of divorce and consequent sufferings are similar all over the country — only the people involved are different.

The NCW suggested that the Board make amendments to the Muslim marriage law so that the suffering of women was reduced. The Board considered the proposals and consulted various interest groups before deciding to put it up for discussion at its Bangalore meeting.

The backdrop to the nation-wide controversies over talaq had evolved during the Shah Bano case. In 1985, Shah Bano, aged 75, appealed to the Supreme Court for maintenance against her former husband, Mohamed Ahamed Khan. It was a rare case of a Muslim woman daring to take on the prevailing community system. The Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Divorce) Act, 1986 was its fallout, which too courted controversy.

The NCW report has requested the Board to adopt a standard and foolproof nikahnama (marriage contract) and enforce it as a mandatory requirement for all Muslim marriages. The reasoning of the NCW was that a nikahnama, if proper and available, could be used as a proof in case of divorce litigation.

It has also underscored that existing nikahnamas are dubious and difficult to enforce, which a majority of married Muslim women would never see in their lifetime. This was in spite of the fact that Islamic law prescribes that marriage is a contract and both parties should have access to the contract document.

A contract presupposes that either party involved can divorce or seek other proper remedy if preferred. “But, it rarely happens the other way. The inherent power structure remains tilted against women” according to scholars requesting anonymity.

A suitably formulated draft nikahnama, which the AIMPLB had referred to various Mulsim outfits, is also to be discussed at its Bangalore meeting. Sources said that women members of the Board have also demanded implementation of a proper format for nikahnama.

The NCW report had underlined that a proper nikahnama was not a new concept. Several Muslim organisations and scholars like Maulana Asharaf Ali Thanavi (1936), Dr Mohammed Iqbal (1939) had suggested it. The Islamic Fiqh Academy too had proposed a proper and enforceable format for nikahnama in 1995.

The draft document also provide rights to women for divorce in the following instances: Husband’s whereabouts are not known for two years; husband refuses to provide maintenance for one year; husband becomes of unsound mind; the spouses are separated for one year; the husband suffers virulent venereal diseases or treats the wife cruelly.

The report also affirms that mehr (dower) and maintenance form part of personal law of Muslims but they were not recognised as important by men. The qazi (clerics) are forced by Muslim men to record a meagre mehr amount, to escape from paying maintenance. The draft also include rules for assuring adequate mehr and maintenance, sources added.

Sources in the AIMPLB said that there would invariably be some changes in the draft put up for discussion at the meeting. “But if it gets the green signal even with some changes, it would be a landmark event in the history of Indian Muslims”, they observed.