India: Instant divorce declared illegal by Supreme Court

By APD Writer Rishika Chauhan

**NEW DELHI, August 23 (APD)-- **The Supreme Court of India on Tuesday banned an Islamic practice of ‘triple talaq’ which leads to instant divorce among the followers of Islam. The verdict is being hailed as a landmark judgment for gender justice in India and is said to stop Muslim men calling off a marriage on an impulse.

According to a report published in the Hindustan Times, “In a split verdict, three of the five all-male judges on the case said the practice of saying “talaq”, or divorce, three times in one go – sometimes even over email and WhatsApp – violated women’s right to equality and was not integral to Islam.”

It was argued that instant divorce should be banned and the government should introduce a new law in the next six months to regulate the practice.

Muslim women, along with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his party members had been campaigning for the practice to be quashed.

Speaking to the media, Shayara Bano, a 35-year-old divorced Muslim woman said, “This is a historic day for Muslim women. No Muslim women will have to go through the harassment that I suffered. I am happy that my 11-yearold daughter will not have to face such regressive practice when she grows up.”

To divorce, Muslim men in India have two other forms of divorce that have a three-month consideration period.

Instant talaq, or “talaq-e-biddat”, has been banned in 22 Muslim-majority countries, including in India’s neighbor Pakistan, for being “sinful and arbitrary.” The five judges who decided on the case belonged to India’s major faiths —Hinduism, Christianity, Islam, Sikhism and Zoroastrianism.

(ASIA PACIFIC DAILY)