India moves closer to ban on ‘instant divorce’

The Indian government yesterday issued an executive order making the Islamic practice of “instant divorce” a criminal offence punishable by up to three years in prison.

The controversial move brings the country a step closer to an outright ban on “triple talaq” – when a Muslim man ends his marriage by saying “talaq” (“you are divorced” in Arabic) three times in succession.

It now needs only approval from the president to become law.