Talaq, Talaq, Talaq No more!

The Supreme Court passed a historic ruling by stating that the practice of triple talaq would be seen as unconstitutional. It has asked the Centre to pass a legislation and enact a law that would overturn this practice within the next six months. After deliberating over separate cases a bench of five judges from five different faiths passed the judgment stating that the practice was indeed discriminatory and does not come within the purview of a secular state. Referring to the abolition of triple talaq in several Islamic states the Supreme Court verdict questioned why India could not get rid of this primitive practice. While Chief Justice JS Khehar and Justice S Abdul Nazeer spoke in favour of the practice as a fundamental right of Muslims in practising their religion; Justices Kurien Joseph, RF Nariman and UU Lalit argued that triple talaq violated the right to equality before the law for Muslim women who were indiscriminately violated under this practice.

Justice Khehar and Nazeer while not fundamentally opposing triple talaq nevertheless agreed that there must be a stay on the practice for six months until the Centre is successful in passing a legislation that would oversee the aspect of divorce for Muslim marriages. This verdict has been welcomed by all in the Centre and across civilian groups. The subjugation of women in the name of religion cannot be accepted in a modern democracy. However, while we celebrate this verdict the Centre has a tough task at hand. It must bring forth a law within the next six months that would resolve the issue of marriage and divorce for Muslim couples. The Muslim Personal Law Board which had so forth governed issues regarding marriage, inheritance and divorce will now be exempt from setting precedence in the case of divorce. The utterance of the word talaq thrice has known to devastate the lives of many women whose husbands have left them in the face of adversity. This is a welcome move by the Supreme Court that has given hope to several women in the Muslim community who have been impoverished, homeless, and driven to the streets facing the brunt of this heinous practice. Former Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi had earlier in May also stated that once the Supreme Court passed its resolution the government would enact laws that would introspect Muslim divorce rules, specifically keeping in mind the violation of women's rights. Taking to twitter to express his satisfaction Prime Minister Narendra Modi called the verdict historic and said that this judgment finally granted equality to Muslim women and presented a path to pursue powerful measures for women empowerment. This verdict has indeed opened a new chapter in the history of women's liberation in India.