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World|life|September 20, 2018 / 05:22 PM
India bans Muslim men from instantly divorcing their wives using ‘Talaq’

AKIPRESS.COM - India has banned Muslim men from instantly divorcing their wives by saying the Arabic word ‘talaq’ three times, Metro reports. 

The executive order was approved by the country’s cabinet earlier today.

The decision to outlaw it was made by India’s Supreme Court last year after it ruled that the practice violated the constitutional rights of Muslim women. But Prime Minister Narendra Modi wanted to make it an offence carrying a jail term of up to three years.

Most of the 170 million Muslims in India are Sunnis governed by the Muslim Personal Law for family matters and disputes.

The laws include allowing the practice, known as ‘triple talaq’, whereby men can divorce by simply saying the word three times, and not necessarily consecutively, but at any time, and by any medium, including telephone, text message or social media post.

The government will have another six months to get Parliament’s approval for the ordinance to become law. But in the meantime, those who violate it can be prosecuted under the ordinance.

Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said that nearly 22 countries, including neighboring Pakistan and Bangladesh, have banned the practice and appealed to the opposition to approve the Muslim Women Protection of Rights on Marriage Bill.

He said the issue of triple talaq has continued ‘unabated’, adding that the government had recorded 201 such divorces since the Supreme Court struck down the law last year.

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