Indian court rules against instant divorce

Five Muslim women moved the Supreme Court to declare instant divorce unconstitutional

India’s top court has ruled the practice of instant divorce in Islam unconstitutional, marking a major victory for women’s rights activists.

In a 3-2 majority verdict India’s Supreme Court also stayed the practice.

India is one of a handful of countries where a Muslim man can divorce his wife in minutes by saying the word talaq (divorce) three times.

The landmark court decision came after it considered petitions challenging the so-called “triple talaq” custom.

The cases were filed by five Muslim women who had been divorced this way and two rights groups.

Three of the judges called the controversial practice “unIslamic, arbitrary and unconstitutional”. The court has also asked parliament to legislate on the issue.

“Muslim women in India have suffered for the last 70 years. It’s a historic day for us, but it doesn’t end here. I cannot tell you how much Indian women have supported us, despite their religions,” Zakia Soman, a women’s rights activist, from Bharatiya Muslim Mahila Andolan, one of the organisations who contested the practice, told reporters.

BBC