Telangana qazis red-flag ‘one-sided’ talaq system

HYDERABAD: At a time when the All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) is opposing any move to scrap triple talaq and is all set to contest the Shayara Bano case in the Supreme Court, the qazis of Telangana are silently bringing in change by discouraging a different type of divorce - one they describe as ‘one-sided talaq’.
Qazis point out that there have been hundreds of cases over the last several months in which men have sought to divorce their wives without informing them of their intentions.Such spouses seek to deposit the meher (dower) with qazis and request them to send their spouses notices of divorce. However, qazis claim that this procedure finds no religious sanction.
Qazi Mir Mohammed Khader Ali, who heads the Anjuman-e-Qazat, or the council of qazis, said he turned down at least 200 such requests last year and insisted that the applicant’s wife be present at the time of filing for divorce. “Talaq is very much a legal provision. But not informing the wife about talaq, depositing the dower with qazis and scooting is not right,” he said.
Calling it a ‘misuse’ of the divorce provision, Ali said such incidents occur due to lack of understanding of Islam and Islamic laws.
Chief qazi of Secunderabad and Secunderabad Cantonment jurisdiction, Syed Shah Noorul Asfia Soofi, said he had come across more than a dozen such cases in last few months. “The only way to put an end to this is to not entertain the affidavit for divorce unless both parties are present or till talaq has been pronounced. Once the man returns with his wife, counselling can be done and perhaps the marriage can be saved,” he said.
Qazi Ikramullah, who heads the Nalgonda Qazat, said “at least 15 percent of marriages can be saved if one-sided talaq is discouraged”. Former chairman of the wakf board Syed Ghulam Afzal Biyabani says he too is against the practice.
Qazi Mohammed Yusufuddin Askar from the Qila Mohammed Nagar Qazat, a jurisdiction which covers large portions of Golconda, said a conference of heads of agencies associated with the Minorities Welfare Department (MWD) and parliamentarians should be convened to decide the future course of action.
"The police can play an active role in stopping this. We need to put this on paper by following proper procedure," he said. But deliberations of the MWD with qazis have met with little success. "Different MWD secretaries have held several meetings in the past six years. If no amendment in the Act can be made, rules could have been drafted. But all efforts have come to a naught," a qazi said on condition of anonymity.
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