Shia board for anti-triple talaq law like one against sati

The All India Shia Personal Law Board (AISPLB) today asked the Uttar Pradesh government to draft a strict law against triple talaq similar to the one against the practice of sati to prevent Muslim women from getting victimised.

"Merely boycotting those who give talaq without Sharia reasons will not suffice as it will not do any justice to the aggrieved woman. There is nothing like triple talaq in one go," AISPLB spokesperson Maulana Yasoob Abbas told PTI here.

His comments came a day after the All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) adopted a resolution saying that those who give talaq (divorce) without Sharia (Islamic law) reasons will face social boycott.

The AIMPLB at its meeting here yesterday had asserted that Muslims have a "constitutional" right to follow their personal law including the triple talaq mode of divorce.

However, Abbas indicated that the Shia board's view was different from that of the AIMPLB and made a comparison of triple talaq in one go to sati, the banned Hindu practice of the wife immolating herself on the husband's pyre.

"The need of the hour is to enact a strict law against triple talaq in one go that is similar to the anti-sati law to prevent any Muslim woman from getting victimised and ensure that the culprit is punished," he said.

He, however, said that it was wrong to draw an analogy between triple talaq and disrobing of Draupadi as mentioned in Mahabharata. "Triple talaq is wrong as also is the tendency to remain silent on this issue. Giving triple talaq in one go to a woman is a sin, but it cannot be equated to disrobing (of Draupadi)," he said.

The Sati (Prevention) Act, 1987 was enacted to prevent the practice as also its glorification. Sati was first banned under Bengal Sati Regulation, 1829.

On April 15, the first day of AIMPLB executive meet here, the Shia community had appealed to the board to keep in mind the Quran, Sharia and humanity before arriving at any decision on the contentious issue of triple talaq.

Abbas said many Muslim countries have already put an end to the practice as it is directly linked to the lives of Muslim women. "In the Shia community, there has been no place for triple talaq in one go," he said.