It's Personal Once Again

The Triple Talaq Bill Made Big Noise When It Was Drafted Last Year, But It Is Still To Serve Its Purpose.

- Ushinor Majumdar And Prachi Pinglay-Plumber

It has been a year since the Supreme Court’s gavel fell on triple talaq— the practice of Muslim men divorcing their wives by uttering the word ‘talaq’ (divorce) thrice. But the government is struggling to get the bill passed. the All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) says it oversteps the mandate given by the apex court.

In the meantime, many Muslim women continue to wait for the justice promised to them. Shaheen, 38, of Ratnagiri district in Maharashtra was divorced by her husband over WhatApp! This happened after the SC’s 2017 judgment, but the law is still not in place to provide justice to her. She’s partially-disabled and has been divorced once before. She met her second husband, the Saudi Ara bia-based Asad, on Facebook. The two were hitched in a brief ceremony and Asad took off for Saudi Arabia soon after. In a few months, his calls and messages stopped, then, one day, he simply texted “talaq” to her.

She tried contacting him, but he had cut her off. Even the cops couldn’t trace him. “What has happened to me is unfair. They (his family) want us to agree to a mutual divorce (moklik), without maintenance. I hope something will be done when the new law is in force,” says Shaheen.

Zainab (32), from Mumbai, faced similar injustice. She married her cousin, who had a degree in hotel management from a UK university. The promise of a cushy life in Mumbai dissipated soon after the 2012 wedding. Zainab’s in-laws harassed her for dowry and her husband used her gold jewellery as collateral to borrow money for his business.

When she lodged a domestic violence FIR, her husband sent her talaq messages through WhatsApp, and later by post. This too happened after the 2017 verdict. Now, the husband is engaged to another woman, while Zainab is left stranded. The police have been of little help.