Hyderabad: More women coming out in the open against practice

HYDERABAD: Salima (name changed), a 22-year-old resident of Old City, who was a victim of triple talaq, is not like hundreds of others who are suffering, some even killing themselves after their husbands left them for reasons aplenty. She is one of those who are fighting back after the Supreme Court called the concept of  triple talaq unconstitutional in August last.

Even after the SC verdict, instances of triple talaq continue in the city where men believe that Sharia is supreme and they can divorce their wives at will. Union Law Minister Ravishanker Prasad, who was in Hyderabad on Thursday, had said that triple talaq cases were increasing in Telangana and Uttar Pradesh. The city-based qazis, who say that cases of triple talaq come to them regularly, agree with the claim of the Union minister.

With women protesting and seeking compensation, the narrative, however, is slowly changing. Women are also coming out in the open and pushing for men who seek divorce on baseless grounds to be jailed for three years, as per the Apex Court’s decision.

Take the case of Salima, who was accused of having extra-marital affairs.  She was treated as an outcast in her in-laws home just weeks after the wedding, where she was not even allowed to eat with them. “I came into the family and wanted to be part of them. But they never allowed me and when I asked why, it led to petty fights which later reached a stage where the whole family decided to divorce me,” said Salima, who takes computer classes. She was first sent back to her home and then a notice was sent stating -- Talaq-e-Shebar (triple talaq), leaving no scope for negotiation.

In any other situation in the past, the woman would not have demanded anything but Salima is keen on getting a compensation and sending her former husband to jail.

“I will not go back to a home that treated me like an outsider and I do not want other women to go through the same,” she said.

In fact, most of these men seek divorce stating that women are promiscuous. Two days ago, another woman complained that she was taken out to a romantic dinner while the man’s family delivered her belongings home and was told that he was leaving for Dubai for a job. A few days later, he announced talaq in the local newspaper.

While those working with these cases believe that there are several cases of triple talaq reaching the Qazis in the city on a regular basis, around 50 women have approached Shaheen Resource Centre in Moghulpura since the judgment was passed.

Another woman, whose case is currently with the district legal services authority (DLSA), shared that men are not ready to go to behind bars as per the Supreme Court’s judgment.

“They believe that this is a civil matter and it should be left to the families. They go and deposit the meher with the Qazi and then move on with their lives. But that is not enough,” she said.   

Syed Nisar Hussain, member of the Telangana Waqf Board,  told Express that there is no  change in the number of triple talaq cases even after the judgement. “There has been no fall in the number of such cases in the city,” he said.