Rajasthan women who challenged talaq misuse

Jaipur: Three decades ago, when the Supreme Court ruled in favour of Shah Bano, seeking maintenance from her husband, there was huge uproar and protest by the Muslim community, forcing the then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi to reverse the judgment by enacting the Muslim Women Act 1986.

Contrast this with today’s atmosphere, where progressive Muslims, including a large number of men have outnumbered orthodox voices within the community to abolish triple talaq. A significant contribution to this change of attitude was made by a few gritty women who fought against their husbands’ bizarre way of getting divorce. Some of these cases that made people take notice of misuse of triple talaq took place in Rajasthan in last two years.

Aafreen Rehman (28) from Jaipur was the second woman to challenge the triple talaq system in the apex court after her husband Ashar Warsi divorced her under the Muslim practice over a letter sent via speed post. Unlike Rehman, who was an MBA graduate and a top professional in a private firm, Amiran Bano of Jodhpur was illiterate, yet she successfully stalled her husband’s second marriage. Bano approached court claiming that her husband Khan did not follow all steps enshrined in the Sharia. She claimed that talaq nama (deed), which was sent through registered post, had two witnesses. One of them was a non-Muslim, which is a violation of the Sharia law

Another Jodhpur woman, Shagufta, wrote a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to abolish this system with immediate effect. In the letter, Shgufta, who was given divorce through a piece of paper with talaq written on it thrice termed the system of triple talaq as inhumane and disastrous for Muslim women. “This (triple talaq) system has devastated many families and so it must be abolished for the good of the Muslim society,” said Shagufta.

On the other hand, young Nagina in Jaisalmer approached the Rajasthan Women’s Commission (RWC) after her husband said triple talaq over phone and broke all relations with her. Nagina said her husband had called over phone from Jodhpur and uttered triple talaq, allegedly over her failure to give birth to boys.

However, what shocked everyone was the case in which a husband forced his wife to sleep with his friend on the pretext of nikah halala. But, the 42-year-old woman filed a rape case against her husband, alleging that he drugged her, after which his friend raped her. When she woke up next to the accused and cried for help, her husband emerged from another room and said it was part of halala, she said. According to the woman, her husband, a property dealer, was a gambler and had “lost her” to his friend. “He used to insist that I sleep with his friends, but I always refused,” she said.

Nikah halala mandates that if a woman wants to go back to her husband after a divorce, she must first consummate her marriage with another man. “But he continued to live with me and had conjugal relations. So why the need for halala?” she asked.