Recently, two Muslim women have appealed to the Supreme Court to ban the practise of ‘unilateral triple talaq in one sitting’.  The SC has admitted their pleas and has asked the central government to give its response in the matter before it gives its own verdict.  What is the CPI(M) stand on this issue?

S Madhavi, Visakhapatnam

GENDER equality is enshrined in the constitution of India and, therefore, any citizen who feels that her (or his) rights have been violated because of her (and his) gender has every right to appeal against such a violation to the SC.  The noted expert on Islamic jurisprudence, Tahir Mahmood, has time and again re-iterated that if any part of customary law, including the personal laws of different religions, conflicts with constitutional provisions, the SC is bound to intervene when it is appealed to from any citizen who feels aggrieved on this count.

As far as this particular issue is concerned, there are schools of Islamic jurisprudence who either strongly condemn or disallow the pronouncement of unilateral talaq in one sitting.  They insist that the Quranic method of divorce should be adopted according to which a three month period should elapse between the first and last pronouncement of talaq so that there is adequate time for reconciliation.

The All India Democratic Women’s Association had, in its Convention on Equal Rights and Equal Laws held soon after the Shah Bano controversy, passed a resolution demanding gender-just laws for members of all communities.  The resolution had appealed to the government to ensure this.  Unfortunately, progress on this has been very slow.  The AIDWA also carried out a signature campaign all over the country demanding, among other things, a ban on the right to unilateral talaq enjoyed by Muslim men.

It is very encouraging that several organisations of Muslim women are also demanding gender-just reforms in Muslim Personal Law and they are receiving support from many sections within the community and outside.  The CPI(M) supports all these efforts.

The CPI(M) upholds the right of women to equality in all spheres.  The right of men to pronounce talaq unilaterally whether in one sitting or over three months cannot be condoned when Muslim women only have recourse to ‘khula’ that requires their relinquishing many rights like the right to ‘mehr’ etc and also requires approval by a Qazi.  The Party supports the struggle for reform of Muslim personal laws to ensure equal rights for Muslim women.