The ongoing debate about the validity of the practice of triple talaq in the modern day has been renewed with Muslim women, across India, advocating its nullification. The presence of such archaic, discriminatory law doesnt befit the vision of a progressive India. Biased against women, triple talaq is exercised by Muslim men, often to issue a warning to their spouses. This kind of psychologically torturous and socially discriminatory law should have no place in India, both constitutionally and morally, because of the secular foundation of Indian society. It opens up a series of questions, encapsulating the conflict between religion and gender.
170 million Muslims are governed by Muslim Personal laws when it comes to family disputes. One such law allows Muslim men to divorce his wife by following the oral tradition of uttering the word talaq three times, by any medium. Opposition to this law by women first came into notice in 1978, with Shah Bano took her spouse to the Court for divorcing her through this practice of triple talaq. The Courts ruling in her favour was met by criticism from the All India Muslim Personal Law Board, widely considered to be the authority in Islamic issues. Recently, movements, like Bhartiya Muslim Mahila Andolan, have come forward to invoke solidarity amongst Muslim women, to form a unified opposition.
The Allahabad High Court, in 2016, declared that the triple talaq, as a practice, was both cruel and demeaning to women. Triple talaq is banned in 20+ states, including Pakistan, Bangladesh, Turkey but continues to prevail in India.
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