In a landmark judgment, the Supreme Court struck down the practice of triple talaq as unconstitutional. The SC bench declared the practice “un-Islamic, retrograde, unworthy” and said that it “violates right to equality”. The verdict was reached by a 3:2 split within a five judge Supreme Court bench.
Poet, lyricist and screenwriter, Javed Akhtar reacted to the historic verdict.
“Of course it’s a welcome decision. Any law, personal or otherwise, which victimizes women must be removed. Many of us have been shouting about getting rid of the triple talaq. I’ve spoken against it at various public events for close to 20 years. It’s a pity the decision to abolish this inhuman practice has come from outside the Muslim community”.
It should’ve come from the Muslim Personal Law Board long ago…chaliye, koi baat nahin der aaye durust aaye. But with joy at this abolition of an archaic and barbaric practice, there is also a sense of despair and apprehension about attempts being made to declare marriages null and void by branding them ‘Love Jihad’.
“A 24-year-old adult Hindu woman in Kerala who says she wilfully married a Muslim man has been forced to end her marriage by the honourable Supreme Court and return to her parents. This according to me, is a shocking violation of an individual’s right to privacy. The woman has said she married the man of her own choice. Are the courts now going to pry into marriages to determine whether the union of legal or not? While choosing partners for themselves should women and men consult the government first? It is ridiculous, to say the least. So, while on the one hand I rejoice the honourable Supreme Court’s decision to end the the practice of the triple talaq, on the other hand I wonder if the courts are now moving into the most private spaces in our lives.”
(The love of Lata Mangeshkar's voice and Hindi movies - in that order - has propelled Subhash K Jha to the pursuit of journalism for over 30 years.)
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