How Triple Talaq Violates Fundamental Rights of Muslim Women

Abstract

Generally human rights are equated with more freedom and progress. However it becomes pertinent to note that conferring rights do not always result in emancipation. The major reason behind this exclusionary nature of human rights is the universal assumption on which it is based. The darker side of human rights most apparently manifests itself in case of women as they are caught at the intersection of community identity and the narrative of modernity. One such universalistic subject is the image of a thoroughly victimised Muslim women who is in need of protection through the liberal rights discourse. The current debate around triple talaq, centred on the Sharaya Bano and several batches of petitions as well as Supreme courts own suo moto PIL considers certain aspects of Islamic personal laws which amount to gender discrimination and hence violates the constitution misses the point of intersectionality. As per the liberal understanding of rights for empowerment of women we need to subordinate the category of religion and culture. However constitutional rights would remain a dead letter if we do not understand the manner in which identity politics unfolds especially in case of women. The whole triple talaq issue has become a battleground for the culture versus mordernity debate. It is important to realize that women’s experiences cannot be understood in these reductive binaries as “she” is produced from the very power relations which subordinate them. In this paper the author deals with the question of triple talaq in the light of the recent petition filed in the Supreme Court for declaring such talaq invalid. The author argues that there is an already existing legal precedent established by the apex court with respect to triple talaq which should be followed instead of resorting to a confrontational approach which may become hegemonic to Muslim women themselves. The author shall advocate that taking cue from third wave feminism, the identity of Muslim women must be understood at the intersection of gender and religion.