Triple Talaq, Polygamy Are Unconstitutional: NCW Affidavit to SC

The affidavit was filed on Saturday following the petitions submitted by several women in apex courts.

Triple talaq has been a contentious issue in the country since the Supreme Court proposed the introduction of the Uniform Civil Code. (Photo: The Quint)

On Saturday, the National Commission for Women (NCW) filed an affidavit to the Supreme Court declaring practices like triple talaq, polygamy and nikah halala as “unconstitutional”.

The commission is partaking of a large number of cases relating to women who have been at the receiving end of the practice of unilateral talaq. Triple talaq (<i>talaq-e-bidat</i>), <i>nikah halala</i> and polygamy are unconstitutional because they compromise the rights of Muslim women (or women who marry into Muslim community) to their disadvantage, which is detrimental to them and their children.

NCW Affidavit

The affidavit is preceded by several petitions filed by many women in apex courts.

These practices – triple talaq, <i>nikah halala</i> and polygamy – should be strictly prohibited. The NCW is supporting the stand of the Union government and is adapting the affidavit filed by it.

NCW affidavit

Of these three concerns, triple talaq has been a contentious issue in the country since the Supreme Court proposed the introduction of the Uniform Civil Code in the country, which implies the abolition of the practice of talaq-e-bidat, more commonly known as ‘Triple Talaq’.

Under this practice, predominantly practised by the Sunni sect of Islam, a man can divorce his wife by simply saying “I divorce you” or “talaq” three times in one sitting. While the practice has no mention in the Quran, which lays out elaborate stages and conditions for the procedure of a divorce, it has been part of certain historical traditions, also explaining its existence in contemporary Indian society.

Also Read: Triple Talaq: What Do Indian Muslim Women Really Think?

(With inputs from The Times of India.)