Kuwait Times

Indian Muslim ‘instant divorce’ ban hailed

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NEW DELHI: The Indian government and women’s groups hailed “historic” legislatio­n yesterday that criminaliz­ed “instant divorce” for Muslims, but an influentia­l Islamic group said it would launch a legal challenge. India’s upper house passed a bill Tuesday banning the centuries-old practice that allowed men to separate from their wives by saying “talaq” - or divorce - three times. Husbands who use it now can be jailed for up to three years or be fined. Some Muslim women’s groups celebrated at events across India, which has followed Pakistan, Bangladesh, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates in regulating “triple talaq”.

Zakia Soman, a social activist who launched a campaign against the practice nearly a decade ago, said the legislatio­n would serve as a deterrent against the unjust treatment of women, some of whom were divorced with a WhatsApp message or by phone. “This law is the result of decades of injustice meted out to Muslim women and the unsympathe­tic attitude of the political class and clergy,” Soman told AFP. The government called the parliament vote “historic”. “An archaic and medieval practice has finally been confined to the dustbin of history,” Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Twitter late Tuesday.

‘Medieval’ divorce banned

But other Muslim groups fought the law and even the opposition Congress Party was against it, accusing Modi’s right-wing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of targeting one minority group. Zafaryab Jilani of the All India Muslim Personal Law Board vowed yesterday to challenge the new legislatio­n in court. He said the action was part of a wider campaign by Modi’s Hindu nationalis­t party to undermine religious freedom. “We are not surprised by the legislatio­n as it is part of their larger agenda to change the country’s constituti­on and snatch away the rights of minorities,” Jilani, secretary of the Muslim group, told AFP. Jilani said a petition against the law had nearly 50 million signatorie­s across India.— AFP

 ??  ?? NEW DELHI: Muslim women visit the Parliament house to watch the current session from viewer’s gallery in New Delhi. — AFP
NEW DELHI: Muslim women visit the Parliament house to watch the current session from viewer’s gallery in New Delhi. — AFP

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