50k Muslims rally against triple talaq, Uniform Civil Code becoming a must?

June 01, 2016

The condition of the status of triple talaq in India is worsening over time.Over 50,000 Muslims have signed a petition spearheaded by Bhartiya Muslim Mahila Andolan (BMMA) seeking a ban on triple talaq. The online petition calls the triple talaq system & lsquo un-Quranic practice'. Commenting on the ongoing movement, BMMA co-founder Zakia Soma said, over 50K have advocated for abolition of triple talaq system in the Muslim community. She said her organistaion has requested the National Commission for Women (NCW) for support. While writing a letter to the NCW, the women's rights group said, & quot We have found that women want a legal ban on the practice of oral/unilateral divorce. Our national study 'Seeking Justice Within Family' found that 92 percent of Muslim women want an end to this practice which destroys their life and the lives of their children. Coupled with oral divorce is the heinous practice of nikah halala which also must be abolished. The cause has found support from people all around the world and also celebrities. Famed Bangladeshi author Taslima Nasreen has mocked the practice of saying triple talaq by some Muslim men for getting divorce from their wives, saying women should also have similar right. “ Why should only men have the right to divorce their wives? Women should have the right to divorce husbands by saying talaq talaq talaq,” the author said. “ When men and women both are independent, triple talaq system is not bad. If a man doesn't love his wife, why should wife try to live with him?” she asked. Recently, the Supreme Court admitted a petition by Dehradun-based Shayara Bano demanding abolition of the practice. BMMA has been advocating reconciliation and mediation where the divorce process is carried out over a period of 90 days. & quot Muslim women are citizens of India and all constitutional safeguards are applicable to her (sic). The Muslim personal law must be reformed in such a manner that all discriminatory practices are struck down as illegal and Muslim women's constitutional and Quranic rights are safeguarded,& quot the petition says.

OUR TAKE

The need for a Uniform Civil Code is evidently visible now. There have been many cases where the man has divorced his wife through bizarre ways and means. A prime example is when an NRI man from Kerala had sent his 21-year-old wife a triple talaq message from Dubai on WhatsApp. If the society does not evolve with the changing times, there is no way the society can be stopped from being called “ primitive” . If India wants to march on and take control of the global developmental chariot, the country needs to change the way it views the laws and rules.