Instant divorce opposed

A landmark case challenging the controversial Muslim custom of ‘‘triple talaq’’, which produces an instant divorce, has opened in India’s highest court, with activists hoping to ban the practice. A bench of five judges, each of a different faith, will examine whether triple talaq violates the rights of Muslim women and India’s constitution or is integral to Islam, as claimed by religious groups. More than 11 million Indian Muslim women, about one in eight, are thought to have been divorced by husbands who can simply say ‘‘talaq, talaq, talaq’’ – ‘‘divorce’’ in Arabic – and walk away, often leaving them destitute. The practice is bitterly debated throughout the Muslim world. India, home to the third-largest Muslim community in the world, is one of only a few countries where it is still legally enforceable. Indian women have been divorced not just verbally but via email, postcard, social media and WhatsApp.