It is a gross injustice to Muslim women

The pride and self-respect of Indians will be achieved only when a uniform civil code comes into force and everybody enjoys basic human rights as guaranteed by the Constitution of India...

Triple talaq” is a widely practised policy in Muslim community. According to this practice, a Muslim man may divorce his wife by speaking the word “talaq”, which means “I divorce you”, three times in quick succession to her. The practice has been stopped in many Muslim-majority nations, including Pakistan, but is permitted in India under the Muslim Personal Law (Shariat) Application Act 1937.

A couple which underwent triple talaq cannot remarry unless the female marries another man truly and then her second husband dies or divorces her. In this case the marriage (nikah) of the woman with her second husband is called nikah halala.

This is a social and human rights issue and women must get their rights as guaranteed by the Constitution of India. The fundamental rights are defined as the basic human rights of all citizens. These rights, defined in Part III of the Constitution, apply irrespective of race, place of birth, religion, caste, creed or gender.

Triple talaq is a gross injustice to Muslim women and many are raising their voices against this practice from the Muslim community itself. There is no legal, moral, cultural or even religious justification behind continuing to let a few patriarchs of the All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) and vested political dispensations deny the fundamental rights of Muslim women.

The AIMPLB started its own signature campaign to gauge if Muslims wanted amendments to the practice. It is not getting the kind of support it got in 1980 in Shah Bano case.

We have moved well beyond idle debates on this subject. Anecdotal evidence, empirical data, court observations and Law Commission findings suggest that there is little support for triple talaq among even the members of the community. Formed in 2007, the Bharatiya Muslim Mahila Andolan (BMMA) started a debate on reforming the Muslim Personal Law, which governs matters such as marriage and divorce. The BMMA claims that the AIMPLB and the clergy have misinterpreted the Quran by allowing practices such as triple talaq, polygamy and nikah halala. It has filed a case in the Supreme Court asking for a ban on triple talaq, polygamy and nikah halala. The BMMA says instant oral triple talaq must end and proper procedure of divorce in three months, with prior efforts of reconciliation, should be strictly followed.

The fate of India as a truly modern, secular nation or a repository of regressive customs that tramples on the rights of its citizens will rest with all of us. Triple talaq should have been abolished long back and it has been delayed because of no political will at the cost of basic dignity to women belonging to the Muslim community. The pride and self-respect of Indians will be achieved only when a uniform civil code comes into force and everybody enjoys basic human rights as guaranteed by the Constitution of India. Ashok Goel is a Delhi BJP spokesperson