India: Law to punish men who use instant triple divorce

By APD writer Rishika Chauhan

NEW DELHI, November 24 (APD)— The government has decided to bring a law to punish men who use instant triple divorce, a practice which was acceptable among Muslim men till August.

Now a legal framework will be provided to prosecute Muslim men who cancel their marriage using the custom.

According to reports a ministerial panel has been set up to formulate a new law and modify existing provisions to punish men in instant triple divorce cases.

Such a divorce is considered irrational and exploitative towards women as using it Muslim men can leave their wives by simply calling out the word,

“talaq”, meaning divorce in Urdu language three times.

In recent years men have even used the instant divorce to end their marriages over email, WhatsApp messages or letters.

In August, the Supreme Court had declared this custom as illegal in India. However, the custom was still being practised, as there was no clear punishment stipulated by the Court.

The government wants to address the problem by formulating laws on punishing the men who use instant triple divorce to leave their wives.

Speaking to the media, Shaista Amber, who is the president of the All India Muslim Women Personal Law Board, said, “I want to thank the judges of the Supreme Court for banning instant triple divorce and I’m happy that the government is keeping its promise of making a law within six months of the court verdict.”

Instant triple divorce is banned in 22 countries with Muslim population, including Pakistan and Saudi Arabia. In India, Muslim men can divorce their wives through other forms of divorce, which are not instant and have a three-month cooling off period.

(ASIA PACIFIC DAILY)