50,000 Muslims sign petition against triple talaq

New Delhi, June 1: Seeking a ban on triple talaq, close to 50,000 men and women have signed a petition. Spearheaded by the Bharatiya Muslim Mahila Andolan (BMMA), th epetitoon has sought the intervention of the National Commission of Women to end the unquranic practice.

Co-founder of BMMA Zakia Soman said that a national signature campaign was underway in various states including Gujarat, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, MP, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Odisha, West Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand, Kerala and UP.

Soman further added, "So far, 50,000 signatures have been collected where women and men have endorsed abolition of triple talaq, many more signatures will be collected in the coming days. We have written to NCW chairperson Dr Lalitha Kumaramangalam to enlist its support to this long-pending demand of Muslim women."

A recent survey showed that 92% of Muslim women wanted an end to the peractice, along with the rather derogatory practice of 'nikah halala', which says that a woman must marry another man, consummate the marriage before she is allowed to remarry her husband. This has been a bane for the women who do not receive any maintenance or alimony and are left fending for themselves and their children.

Men get away with messages on Facebook, SMSes or over the phone talaqs. Even the qazis support them and not the women. "In many cases, the qazis offer themselves as temporary husbands," added Noorjehan Safia Niaz.

The campaign has come in the wake of a recent Supreme Court petition by Dehradun-based Shayara Bano demanding abolition of the practice. To this, BMMA has been advocating reconciliation and mediation where the divorce process is carried out over a period of 90 days.

The petition further adds, "Muslim women are citizens of India and all constitutional safeguards are applicable to her (sic). The Muslim personal law must be reformed in such a manner that all discriminatory practices are struck down as illegal and Muslim women's constitutional and Quranic rights are safeguarded."

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