It can be said that India is the fastest divorce country in the world. This message from a husband can be sent to his wife in a variety of ways, from handwritten letters to text messages. The divorced wife can be evicted from the house immediately.
The majority of Indian women voiced their demand for the abolition of Talaq’s quick divorce law. Photo: Frontline
It is worth mentioning that up to now, this outdated procedure is still tolerated by Indian law, while most Muslim countries have declared it banned. This custom has pushed thousands of Indian women into the dead end with no home to return to.
The original source of the fast divorce law stipulates that a ᴍᴀɴ will have 90 days to say every word “talaq” to his wife. This period is an opportunity for the couple to heal their differences. The third “talaq” cannot be retracted, the two will officially divorce.
However, a part of men in India say these three words arbitrarily so that they can kick their wives out of the house without reason.
Sadaf Mehmood is one of the victims of fast divorce law in India. Photo: Getty
According to statistics, 1 out of 8 Indian women is a victim of talaq fast divorce law. The majority of women have spoken out for the abolition of talaq and the law is currently facing stiff opposition from women’s rights groups.
“Talaq, talaq, talaq.”
That is, “I divorce you”, just 3 short words written in Arabic, quickly ending the 5-year marriage between Sadaf Mehmood and the husband she used to cuddle every night. Although she and her husband have had many conflicts in the past, never before has the incident happened as serious as this.
Sadaf Mehmood is just one case among many Indian women who have been “evicted” from their homes by the “triple Talaq” method, written in the form of traditional letters to phone messages, Facebook and social media accounts. other messaging apps.
“Talaqnama divorce letters often come without any warning or warning,” Mehmood said. Now she is struggling to earn every hard penny without any responsibility support from her husband.
Shayara Bano is also another victim of this type of forced patriarchal divorce. However, she was not willing to see her marriage end in such an unreasonable way, so she decided to apply to the High Court with the desire to put an end to Talaq in Indian society.
“I know my marriage is over, but I have to do something so that other Muslim women don’t go through the same thing as me,” Shayara Bano said of her decision.
India is still a country with clear gender inequality
For example, in marriage, women are not allowed to decide or interfere. Only a ᴍᴀɴ has the right to marry his daughter anywhere. In the event that the father is absent or absent, it is the male relatives’ turn to decide.
Or during the wedding ceremony, the bride’s parents and relatives will have to wash the groom’s feet, then the bride’s turn. Many people think that letting the bride’s parents wash the son-in-law’s feet is demeaning adults, just because they are the parents of a girl.
Or as in Bangladesh, in a traditional wedding ceremony, the mother of the bride is not allowed to be present to celebrate with her daughter. Because according to the traditional concept, it is a bad omen for the girl’s marriage.
And there are countless customs and misconceptions that are gradually turning women in Muslim countries into second-class citizens in a society that is calling for gender equality around the world. One of the most opposed customs is the “triple Talaq”.
A charity has investigated more than 4000 Muslim women and obtained quite disturbing results.
Indian women suffer so much injustice because of being female.
500/4000, or 1/8 of the respondents, said that they had been divorced just through those 3 dry words accidentally. And no one stood up to regain them the right to sign, agree on property or unilaterally refuse to accept a divorce.
As Shaista Ali, from Bhopal said she went to the monks for help after her husband’s divorce by Talaqnama, but in exchange for her hope, the monks automatically sided with her husband’s family in the decision. plan to kick her out of the family.
Also in the last few weeks, the same charity has collected up to 50,000 signatures from people in the Muslim community to increase pressure to abolish the divorce law with this absurd cruel Talaqnama.
Many Muslim-majority countries have banned Talaqnama divorces, including India’s neighboring Bangladesh. In Pakistan, the motion to repeal the law is still under consideration by Parliament.
However, influential leaders in India’s Muslim community still show no sign of wanting to reform the law despite efforts from human rights organizations around the world, because they fear that their beliefs will be violated. totter. Others believe that this adjustment of the law will create a premise for individuals to demand a change in the entire dogma.
Despite all the controversy, Indian women still have to contend with harsh traditions day in and day out. When will it end? Sadly, it all depends on the ᴍᴀɴ.
