Bill to criminalize Islamic instant divorce to be tabled in Indian parliament

NEW DELHI, Dec. 28 (Xinhua) -- The lower House of Indian parliament or Lok Sabha is scheduled to take up a bill Thursday that would criminalize the practice of instant divorce - Triple Talaq, officials said.

"Today Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Bill 2017 is listed in the legislative business of the lower House of parliament," an official said. "The bill criminalizes the practice of instant Triple Talaq."

According to officials, Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad will move the bill in the parliament.

The bill, officials said, is aimed at protecting the rights of married Muslim women and prohibiting divorce by mere pronouncement of Talaq (divorce) by their husbands.

The bill has already been cleared by Indian government this month.

India's Supreme Court described the practice unconstitutional in a landmark judgment in August.

Triple Talaq is a practice which authorizes a Muslim man to divorce her wife by uttering word Talaq (divorce) thrice.

The landmark court decision came in response to petitions filled by five Muslim women who had been divorced in this way. Two rights groups had also petitioned in the apex court, seeking an end of the custom.

Women activists have long been opposing the practice describing it "discriminatory" and "injustice."

The move to abolish Triple Talaq had backing from the Hindu nationalist government headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Muslims in India with population of 155 million are the largest minority community. Their marriages, customs and the issues related to it are exclusively governed by the Muslim Personal law, commonly referred to as Islamic law or Sharia.

Muslims religious groups in India opposed the court's intervention in the issue of Triple Talaq and viewed it as the interference in their religion. Muslim organisations like the All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) have opposed court's verdict of these matters. Enditem