by admin | May 25, 2021 | Books, News, Politics
New Delhi : Poorly informed Muslim clerics are often to blame for the plight of women in the community, particularly when it comes to triple talaq, the Muslim practice of instant divorce that has been declared illegal, says a new book.
The state of affairs is more pronounced in small towns, particularly in northern India, says Ziya us Salam in “Till Talaq Do Us Part” (Penguin).
In just a month after the Supreme Court set aside instant triple talaq, three Muslim women — one each in Hazaribagh (Jharkhand), Jodhpur (Rajasthan) and Rajkot (Gujarat) — were thrown out by their husbands by uttering “talaq” thrice, the book says.
“The three incidents do not merely prove the limitations of the judicial order in a society where ignorance renders the best of laws ineffective,” the book says, adding, “They relate a story of local maulanas unable to give the right advice at the right time, and men and women, even educated ones, not sure of their rights and duties in Islam.
“It is drilled into almost every other man that instant triple talaq is the best, or maybe the only, way to end a marriage. And the maulanas seldom rise to the occasion to save a marriage.
“The (three) incidents also speak eloquently of the failure of Muslim society to instil in its men the teachings of the Quran; instead, they end up relying on the Quran’s interpretation by the local maulanas.”
The book says that the most common Muslim families in small town India depend on the local imam to interpret the Quran for them, or even advise them on any issue pertaining to religion.
The book adds: “Unfortunately, the local imams are often not well versed with the Quran. Probably all of them are hafiz, that is, they have memorised the Quran from the surah, Fateha, to the last sura, Naas.
“But they know not what they read or recite. They have no knowledge of Arabic or of Arab society at the time of the revelation of the Quran. Hence, they read the Quran, even commit it to memory, without understanding it…
“Worse, most of these imams are not reliably conversant with the Hadith either. They usually come from poor families and join a madrasa at least partly because it offers affordable-to-free food and accommodation.”
According to Salam, the ignorance of boys who become imams in smaller towns and villages across India, particularly in the Hindi-speaking belt, often impedes the community’s development.
“The ignorance of the local imam or maulana often has disastrous consequences for many marriages…”
“They never, ever, pull up an errant husband or even suggest that the woman can leave such a man through khula, a women’s inalienable right to divorce, where she is not even expected to disclose the reasons for her decision.”
According to the book, there is zero tolerance towards dowry in Islam. In fact, it is considered a sin to ask the bride’s father to host the wedding feast. A Muslim man is not supposed to receive any dowry and is not allowed to bring another woman home, even as a legally married wife, without the permission of his first wife.
“The way forward lies in a better understanding of the Quran,” says the book. “No judgement of the Supreme Court has gone against the Quran… It is time somebody started a crash course in understanding the Quran for many maulanas.”
—IANS
by admin | May 25, 2021 | News, Politics
New Delhi : In a letter written to Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad on Tuesday, a Muslim body has demanded that the triple talaq or instant divorce should be made an offence under the Domestic Violence Act and should not be criminalised.
In its letter to Prasad, the Indian Muslims for Secular Democracy (IMSD), an NGO, said it supported a legislation to declare instant triple talaq an illegal act, but “strongly opposes” any move by the government to criminalise the practice, punishable with three years in jail plus fine.
“The IMSD fully supports the need for a legislation dealing with abolition of triple talaq. It also recognises the need for penal provisions in the Act so that Muslim men realise that committing the illegality of triple talaq will henceforth have serious consequences. However, the IMSD is not convinced that the solution lies in a straight-forward, single-step criminalisation of the instant divorce practice,” the letter read.
“Moreover, we are seriously concerned with the fact that the draft bill — Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Act — makes triple talaq a non-bailable offence punishable with a jail term of three years and fine. The IMSD is concerned with the serious implications of a single-step criminalisation of triple talaq for several reasons,” it added.
The letter pointed out that since the socio-economic status of the majority of Muslims was low, the case expenses and the subsequent jail term if convicted would leave the erring husband finacially devastated.
“Also, the woman victim of triple talaq too must find money to hire a lawyer to press for her claims of maintenance, child custody, etc. Where will a husband in jail for three years find money to pay for the maintenance of his wife and children?” it said.
“For these reasons, the IMSD is of the view that all things considered, the proposed new law may simply provide that triple talaq, which is illegal, will be treated as ‘domestic violence’ as defined under the secular Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act 2005.
“Once the Domestic Violence Act kicks into place, it immediately opens up the possibility of various reliefs provided under the Act for a victim of triple talaq. These include protection against violence, right to residence in the marital home, maintenance, medical facility, compensation…,” it said.
The letter stressed that the proposed law should declared triple talaq procedure as illegal and not talaq (divorce) per se.
The IMSD said that any legislation dealing with the issue of triple talaq should be comprehensive and lay down the entire correct procedure of pronouncing talaq in accordance with the Islamic law instead of only penalising the practice.
—IANS
by admin | May 25, 2021 | Opinions
Frank F. Islam
On August 22, 2017, the Supreme Court of India ruled that “triple talaq”- the practice which allows a man to divorce his wife instantly by saying the word “talaq three times “- is unconstitutional. Predictably, the Supreme Court ruling was denounced by a number of Muslim leaders and organizations. Some interpreted it as an attack on their religion and way of life. Others saw a conspiracy angle in the importance given to an issue.
This perspective is desperate and distorted. This perspective is not only wrong. It is wrong headed, misplaced and misguided.
I applaud this judgement because I strongly believe that Muslim Instant Divorce is illegal and incorrect in many ways. Instant Divorce is deplorable, disgraceful, and shameful. In addition, it is demeaning, demonizing, disheartening, and demoralizing to Indian Muslim Women.
Most importantly, as one of the judges pointed out, triple talaq is against the basic tenets of the Quran. Recognizing this, many Islamic countries, including two of India’s large Muslim neighbors – Pakistan and Bangladesh – have abolished the practice.
In addition, it is unconscionable to think that a man should be allowed to banish a woman to whom he is married to-who is also the mother of his child or children, in many cases- by uttering a word three times, with no consequences. Triple talaq is also inherently discriminatory in that only a man has that “right” — a Muslim woman cannot end the marriage in a similar way.
Over the years, some Muslim organizations have rationalized the triple talaq by arguing that divorce rates within their community are quite low compared to other religious groups. It affects less than a third of a percent of Muslim women, they argue. This is neither a sound legal nor moral argument. Even if one concedes that instant divorce affects only a minuscule population, injustice should never have legal sanction, regardless of how many people are affected.
The triple talaq ruling, the result of a decades-long campaign by women’s rights groups, was a historic verdict. With the stroke of a pen, the judges made it illegal a practice that over the decades has ruined the lives of countless Indian Muslim women.
In the absence of a comprehensive study among Indian Muslim women, it is not known how many women have been divorced in this manner. A 2013 survey of Muslim women in 10 Indian states by the Bharatiya Muslim Mahila Andolan, an advocacy group that fights for the rights of Indian Muslims, found that triple talaq is the most common mode of divorce among those surveyed.
Of the 4,710 women sampled in the survey, 525 were divorcees. 404 of the divorcees were victims of “triple talaq”. More than 80 percent of them did not receive any compensation at the time of divorce. Two of the five judges that issued the triple talaq judgment differed on the constitutionality of practice. The bench was in unanimous agreement, however, in asking the government of India to enact legislation to govern Muslim marriage and divorce within six months.
The justice system in India has numerous drawbacks. Often it takes decades for courts to deliver justice. In this instance, the Supreme Court should be applauded for delivering the correct judgment in a timely manner.
The ball is now in the hands of the government. It is up to people’s representatives to come up with policies that will change the lives of Muslim women for the better.
Equitable legislation regarding Muslim marriage and divorce should be just the starting point. I firmly believe that the central and state governments must craft policies that empower women, belonging to all castes, creeds, and religions.
The empowerment policies should focus on educating women, developing their skills, and making them part of the work force. Empowerment of this type will allow them to pursue and create their own destiny. It will lead to financial independence. In addition, it will promote security and stability for women and will build their self-esteem and confidence.
The Indian Muslim community should embrace the Supreme Court’s verdict. They should join together to say: End triple talaq. End triple talaq. End triple talaq. They should also use the Court’s decision as the opportunity to advocate for and bring about much needed reforms related to women’s rights.
(Frank Islam is an Entrepreneur, Civic Leader, and Thought Leader based in Washington DC area. His web site is www.frankislam.com)
