Mumbai: As the hearing by a Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court to decide the validity of triple talaq and polygamy is set to begin on May 11, the Bharatiya Muslim Mahila Andolan (BMMA) on Tuesday presented three cases of women, who have been suffering due to the threats of talaq from their husbands who have abandoned them.
“The threat that my husband can leave me any time is like a dangling sword on my neck. Whenever I raised my voice, he threatened to say the word three times and get rid of all his responsibilities easily,” said 29-year-old Shabnam Adil Khan, who was married in 2015.
Her husband Adil left her two months later to join his work in Saudi Arabia. “And when he visited, he would come drunk and hit me because he did not get dowry from my parents,” said Ms. Khan, who wants to ensure that he doesn’t have an easy way out. “He has married me and has some responsibility towards me. If I let him get away with merely mentioning talaq thrice, he will be free to marry for the third time,” said Ms. Khan, adding that she is her husband’s second wife.
Similarly, Sophia Danish Ansari (27) got married in 2008 and has a six-year-old son. Ms. Ansari’s husband has abandoned her for the last three years. “If he leaves me though an oral divorce, he will shun all responsibility towards my son. All I want to ensure is that he contributes towards the expenses of my son so that he can get good education and food,” said Ms. Ansari.
Mutual agreement
Oral divorce or triple talaq is a practice wherein the husband unilaterally demands separation by mentioning talaq thrice and halala . The women has no say in this. Women like Ms. Khan and Ms. Ansari constantly live under the threat of being divorced suddenly and left to fend for themselves. “This is not a very easy way to live. Divorces have to be with agreement in both parties. But this practice of triple talaq is being misused against women for decades,” said Noorjehan Safia Niaz, co-founder of BMMA, adding that the practice needs to be abolished as soon as possible.
Mumbra resident Nazia Shaikh (24) married Wasim in 2012. They have a three-year-old daughter. “He had been abusive since the very beginning. But I stuck around because of my daughter. He threatened to divorce me several times, but I would plead not to,” said Ms. Shaikh, adding that Mr. Wasim remarried last year and has been living away for the last three months. “He lied to me as well as the other woman.”
