A 29-year-old Muslim women in the western Indian state of Maharashtra was divorced by her husband over the telephone, it was reported on Tuesday.
Shabana Sayyed — a resident of the Maharashtra capital, Mumbai — said her husband, Rizwan Sayyed, divorced her by saying ”talaq, talaq, talaq” thrice when she called him up from her parent’s house last week, the Asian Age newspaper reported.
Shabana has a four-year-old daughter and is expecting her second child.
The triple talaq is one of the many forms of divorce permissible under Moslem personal law in India. It is, however, not recognised by the Shia sect of Muslims. Several scholars of Islamic jurisprudence claim it does not have sanction in the Qur’an.
Earlier this year, the Muslim Personal Law Board, the apex body that oversees Islamic religious affairs in India, met to consider abolition of the practice.
Women’s activists claim the triple talaq has caused a great deal of harm to women from the community, leaving many in penury.
However, the law board finally decided it will simply restrict itself to spreading awareness that triple talaq is not a good practice.
Regarding Shabana’s case, Maharashtra Women’s Commission chairperson Nirmala Sawant Prabhavalkar said the triple talaq is not valid when given over the telephone.
Shabana’s lawyers, however, said the triple talaq cannot be challenged in accordance with a verdict of India’s apex Supreme Court.
Shabana is worried over her children’s future. She says her parents are poor and cannot support her and hopes her husband, who works in the emirate of Qatar, will give her financial help for their children. — Sapa-DPA