The fight of Muslim women in India against triple talaq, polygamy and nikah-halala has been an ongoing struggle. The issue has gained momentum after two significant cases were presented in the Supreme Court by Shayara Bano and Aafreen Rahman.
Perhaps one of the biggest requirements of the movement was for the men in the community to speak up. Representatives of the Bharatiya Muslim Mahila Andolan (BMMA) recently called for Muslim men to come out in support of the movement.
And on 8 June, the Muslim men responded.
In a press statement, 227 Muslim men, as part of a group named ‘Muslim Men for Gender Justice’, have come together in the fight against triple talaq. The group includes prominent personalities like Resul Pookutty, Javed Siddiqi and Hasan Kamal.
In support of the demand for abolition of triple Talaq and Nikah-Halala as practiced in India, we the undersigned, believe that if anything, it is more the men’s obligation to cry a halt to patriarchy, particularly when it is sought to be perpetuated in the name of God.Excerpt from the statement by Muslim Men for Gender Justice.
The men in the statement went on to say that they are in full support of the campaign launched by BMMA, and condemn the Ulema’s (body of Muslim theologists) practice of enforcing the misogynistic tradition.
We categorically reject the false claim of the Ulema that what goes in the name of Muslim Personal Law in India is “God-given” law. In fact, the Quran clearly stipulates an obligatory three-month period during which attempts must be made at reconciliation and mediation before severing of the marital bond.
Earlier, over 50,000 Muslims signed a petition to end the triple talaq in India. While the issue is nowhere close to being resolved, this move by liberal Muslim men may have taken the cause a little further.
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