Is India dealing with triple talaq in a dignified manner?

IllustrationRavi JadhavThe minute we start thinking that India has finally managed to do away with triple talaq something more worrying has come to the fore The intention behind abolishing instant talaq and implementing The Muslim Women Protection of Rights on Marriage Bill 2017 was to protect the rights of Muslim women and give them a life they are entitled to But with thousands of women taking to the streets to protest against the provisions of the Bill the question that arises at the moment is whether the country is dealing with Muslim divorce in a dignified manner midday takes a look at how other countries where triple talaq has been banned deal with divorce and whether India has something to learnThe triple talaq BillOn December 28 2017 the Muslim Women Protection of Rights on Marriage Bill 2017 was introduced in the Lok Sabha After a day of discussion the LS passed the Bill rejecting a number of amendments moved by various Opposition members The draft Bill says Any pronouncement of talaq by a person upon his wife by words either spoken or written or in electronic form or in any other manner whatsoever shall be void and illegal It also has a provision of three years of imprisonment and a fine and makes the pronouncement of talaqebiddat a nonbailable offence However the Bill still awaits Rajya Sabhas approval to become an ActThe instant talaqTriple talaq also known as talaqebiddat or instant divorce is the practice under which a Muslim man can divorce his wife by saying the word talaq three times in oral written or electronic form It has been prevalent among Indias Muslim community the majority of whom follow the Hanafi Islamic School of Law This form of divorce has been called out as a misrepresentation of what has been written in the Quran Many Islamic schools of thought prefer deferring the process over a period of three monthsTalaq reforms elsewherePakistan The Muslim Family Laws Ordinance was passed in 1961 under which a man seeking divorce has to pronounce talaq and approach the chairman of the stateappointed Union Council which then takes the case forward for arbitration and possible reconciliationMorocco The Moroccan Family Code which was passed in 2004 gives equal rights to the husband and wifeEgypt The first country to bring changes in its divorce system Egypt implemented the reforms based on the interpretation of the Quran by 13th century scholar Ibn Taymiyyah According to him saying talaq three times in one go accounts for only one step in the process which is followed by a 90day waiting periodTunisia According to the Tunisian Code of Personal Status 1956 a man cannot divorce his wife verbally without consulting a judgeSri Lanka As per Sri Lankas Marriage and Divorce Muslim Act 1951 a man who wants to divorce his wife has to first give notice to the Muslim judge who along with the couples relatives and other Muslims tries reconciliationIraq According to Iraqs Personal Status law three verbal repudiations pronounced at once will count as only one divorceWomen prefer talaqesunnahMost Muslim women bodies want the community to adopt talaqesunnah According to this the first step is to settle the differences through conversation If the differences continue then physical separation is prescribed And if this doesnt work then the man is asked to talk to his wife and make peace If this also fails then arbitration is followed Only if all these dont work out the man can say his first talaqWhen the woman gives talaqThere are two ways in which the wife can claim divorce talaqetafweez and talaqekhula Under tafweez the man assigns the power to give talaq to his wife The second one happens at the request of the wife But the man must accept the request which means the woman has to give back the meher taken during marriage There also needs to be an execution of the khulanamaIts unconstitutionalOn August 22 2017 the Supreme Court banned the controversial Islamic practice as arbitrary and unconstitutional Three of the five judges hearing the case had said that saying talaq three times violated womens rights However then Chief Justice of India J S Khehar and justice S Abdul wanted triple talaq to be suspended and the government asked to reform the practiceHeadline cases of triple Tgtgt Shayara Bano was given a talaqnama by her husband in October 2015 after which she approached the Supreme Court with a petition questioning the legality of triple talaq She has challenged the constitutionality of section 2 of the Muslim Personal Law Shariat Application Act 1937 Her petition is being heard in SCgtgt On April 19 2017 midday reported how Javed Khan divorced his wife Rukshana name changed He had left her at her mothers home in August 2016 She stayed there for months and he kept making excuses to not take her back When he paid her a final visit on February 18 he threw a chit mentioning the divorce at herInputsHemal AsharAlso Read Dr Asma Zahra Says Says The Flawed Triple Talaq Bill Will Make Things Difficult For Muslim WomenCatch up on all the latest Mumbai news crime news current affairs and also a complete guide on Mumbai from food to things to do and events across the city here Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updates