The All India Shia Personal Law Board has drafted a model nikahnama, or marriage contract, that denounces the practice of triple talaq or divorce by uttering the word “talaq” thrice. The draft also sought changes in the terms and conditions of wedlock under Islamic law.
The board’s spokesperson Maulana Yasoob Abbas told Hindustan Times that it was a misconception that Muslim women did not have divorce rights, and that the issue of triple talaq that has come up recently and “put the religion in a bad light”. The new draft comes at a time when the Supreme Court is hearing a batch of petitions challenging the practice of triple talaq.
The draft nikahnama has been given to the AISPLB vice-chairman, Zafaryab Jilani, to be reviewed. Once vetted, the new rules can be adopted, the report said. The All India Muslim Personal Law Board reportedly mooted a similar nikahnama in 2003, according to which husbands and wives could annul their marriages. However, the AIMPLB has earlier opposed any ban on triple talaq or polygamy. The board had said it is a misconception that the law is misused by Muslim men, and that “personal laws cannot be re-written in the name of social reforms”.
The apex court is currently examining whether the practice of triple talaq violates the fundamental rights of Muslim women.
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