With prayer and petition, they won the case

Petitions by six parties were key in drawing SC attention towards triple talaq

Shayara Bano, 36

It was Shayara Bano who challenged the practice before India’s top court. Shayara, who holds a degree in MA Sociology, was divorced by her husband by pronouncing the word talaq thrice through a letter sent to her on October 15, 2015 when she was visiting her parents’ house. Shayara, who hails from Uttarakhand’s Hempur Daya in Kashipur, filed a petition against triple talaq, halala and polygamy in the Supreme Court on February 23, 2016. After divorcing her, Rizwan, a property dealer in Allahabad, took away her two kids-due to which she suffered from depression

Gulshan Parween, 30

Gulshan Parveen of Rampur in Uttar Pradesh filed a petition in Supreme Court asking for abolishing triple talaq. In 2015, she alleged her husband sent her a talaqnama on a Rs 10 stamp paper when she was at her parents’ home. The English literature postgraduate said she was subjected to domestic violence by him for dowry for over two years.“My husband felt like it one fine day and suddenly both my two-year-old son Ridan and I were homeless,” Parween was quoted as saying by NDTV. She refused to accept it, following which her husband approached a Rampur family court asking for dissolution of the marriage.

Ishrat Jahan, 31

A resident of Howrah in West Bengal, Ishrat Jahan was divorced by her husband Murtaza through a phone call from Dubai. In April 2015, her husband of 15 years, called and uttered the talaq word thrice before hanging up. Murtaza had allegedly married another woman and took away their four children with him. “I am very happy at the judgement. The apex court issued the right directive. Now I hope to get justice. I have been fighting for the past two years,” said Jaha. She added that she is not against divorce, but wants the process to be fair.

Atiya Sabri

Atiya Sabri, a resident of Sahranpur in Western Uttar Pradesh is the last petitioner in the case. Her husband Wajid Ali – they were married in 2012 -- sent her a piece of paper announcing he was divorcing her. It was sent to her brother’s office in November 2015.She approached the Supreme Court in January this year challenging the divorce and said that triple talaq violates fundamental rights of women. She has two daughters, aged four and three. She alleged that after her second daughter, her in-laws tried to poison her and she had to be hospitalised. Her husband was arrested later and a trial is on.

Bharatiya Muslim Mahila Andolan (BMMA)

The top court made the Bharatiya Muslim Mahila Andolan a party in the case after taking cognisance of a survey which said 92% of Muslim women want abolition of triple talaq. Led by Zakia Soman (in pic) , the Mumbai-based autonomous body has been fighting for citizenship rights of Muslims since it was formed in January 2007. “It’s a balanced decision. Now we expect government to make a law against triple talaq the soonest,” said Naseem Akhtar, outfit’s Jaipur convener.

Aafreen Rehman, 28

Afreen Rehman got married in 2014 after finding a match through a matrimonial portal. However, after a couple of months, she alleged, her in-laws started mentally harassing her for dowry. Later, they even started beating her and in September 2015 they asked her to leave their house, she alleged. She went back to her parents’ home and received a letter via speed post announcing talaq in January 2016. “It’s a beginning towards the abolition of triple talaq in the country. A law against triple talaq is what we wanted and the court has directed the government to do the same...” said the MBA hailing from Jaipur.