India: Committee Recommends a Ban on 'Oral, Unilateral and Triple Talaq'
Ananya Sengupta
July 10, 2015
New Delhi, July 9: A committee on the status of women, set up by the UPA government in 2013,
has recommended a ban on "oral, unilateral and triple Talaq (divorce)" that allows Muslim men
to divorce their wives over phone, on social networking sites and even over text messages.
The 14-member committee, the biggest yet to be set up to study the condition of women,
submitted its report this week to the ministry of women and child development.
The ministry is now expected to discuss the recommendations
and decide whether or not to accept them.
Even if the ministry were to decide to accept the demand for a ban on triple Talaq, it would have to
then start consultations with the Muslim community before any move can be made to change the law.
A senior WCD ministry official said a series of meetings with other ministries, including home, law
and minority affairs, would be held over the next two weeks.
The first meeting is likely on July 20, the official said.
The committee said the practice should be banned because "it makes wives
extremely vulnerable and insecure regarding their marital status".
The triple pronouncement of Talaq in one sitting has been banned by law in many nations, including
Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Tunisia, Algeria, Iraq, Iran, Indonesia and Bangladesh, and
arbitration councils and judicial interventions introduced to promote
reconciliation. However, in India, the Muslim personal law still permits it.
For a decade, Muslim women's organisations have been
demanding a reform in the Muslim personal law.
"We have seen and documented instances where marriages have been called off over Skype,
Facebook and even text messages. All that the man has to do is say Talaq three times,"
said Shaista Amber of the All India Muslim Women Personal Law Board.
"The problem is that the political class doesn't consider us as vote banks. Politicians have told me
that since I am not a mullah or a Maulvi, my demands are not priority for them," Amber said, adding
that she fears that the recommendations of the high-level committee would also remain in cold storage.
In 2008, a women's rights group led by Amber had proposed a "Shariat Nikahnama" or Islamic marriage
contract providing for mandatory marriage registration and more rights to the wife within the
guidelines of Quranic law. The All-India Muslim Personal Law Board dismissed the proposed changes.
http://www.telegraphindia.com/1150710/jsp/nation/story_30737.jsp#.VZ9p31-qqko
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