13 Nov 2017/Monday

It is a reality of modern life that not every marriage lasts forever.  But does that mean that a bond that putatively lasts until death can be heartlessly pronounced “over” in just a few seconds without giving a fair chance to the partner to confront, apologize or improve?  This setting seemed to be totally off balance; heavily tilted towards one sex and cruel towards the other. This is nothing but an over protective shield mostly to cover cases of debauchery, which has scarred many Muslim women for a long-time. Affecting them psychologically and financially and leaving them socially abandoned. The fact that a developing nation is still clawed in this nefarious practice is nothing but shameful.

We mostly blame the clerics and the uneducated for blindly following the age old practices, but the current case of Aligarh Muslim University professor announcing triple talaaq over whatsapp and his devastated wife threatening to commit suicide again opened the Pandora’s box.

Many Muslim activists and intellectuals argue that the practice of instant divorce by the husband does not exist in the holy book and is therefore not a practice that should fall under religious freedom. India came to this decision pretty late whereas Muslim countries such as Pakistan, Iran, Indonesia and several Arab nations had outlawed the practice in the 20th century. The majority opinion on the court accepted this argument that triple talaaq, in which the word “talaaq” is said all at once, is not a truly Islamic practice. But sadly even in a country which is a fine example of co-existing religions, any attempt to interfere in religious law and community matters is viewed as a violation of minority rights and a threat to freedom.

However, it is time now to abandon this kind of repugnant split to ensure fairness in divorce for many such Yasmeen Khalid’s. It is important to understand that this step is not to undermine any religion, but it is the first rung of a ladder towards greater heights of gender justice. And for those who contest that will such a ban truly change the life of a deserted Muslim woman? The answer is first learn to respect women rest will fall in place.