India Finally Bans Islamic Law That Let Men Instantly Divorce Their Wives

The instant divorce religious custom Talaq-e-mughallazah, or simply referred to as Triple Talaq, has been banned by India’s Supreme Court, marking it as a clean victory for women rights activist in the country.

The Triple Talaq basically allows a man to legally divorce his wife just by saying the word “talaq” for three consecutive times. Sometimes it can even be performed through letters or even modern-age messaging system like through emails, messaging apps (WhatsApp) or Skype, according to BBC.

On Wednesday, the India Supreme Court made the decision to ban the instant divorce with a majority verdict of 3-2, The Guardian reported. During the trial, the majority of the bench has deemed Triple Talaq as “not integral to religious practice” and that it “violates constitutional morality.”

All of the judges that attended the trial were from the five faiths that are currently being practiced in India: Hinduism, Christianity, Islam, Sikhism and Zoroastrianism.

Many people from the country have celebrated the joyous moment including India’s Prime Minister, Narendra Modi. “Judgment of the Hon’ble SC on Triple Talaq is historic. It grants equality to Muslim women and is a powerful measure for women empowerment,” he wrote on his social media post.

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“It’s a very happy day for us. It’s a historic day. We, the Muslim women, are entitled to justice from the courts as well as the legislature,” Bharatiya Muslim Mahila Andolan (BMMA) co-founder, Zakia Soman, said.

Unfortunately, the same rule does not apply for women as they are not allowed to use the Triple Talaq to instantly divorce their husband.

It is unclear how many countries continue to allow the practice of Triple Talaq, but many nations have joined hands to ban the custom including Islamic countries like Pakistan, Bangladesh and Malaysia, to name a few.

Image via Wikimedia Commons / Paulrudd (CC BY-SA 3.0)

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