Khula is prerogative of husband, not courts, says CII

ISLAMABAD: Chairman of the Council of Islamic Ideology (CII) Maulana Muhammad Khan Sherani said on Wednesday courts cannot use the term ‘Khula’ (right of a woman to seek divorce) while dissolving a Nikkah (marriage contract).

“Courts are dissolving Nikkah in the name of Khula, which is not correct. Courts can dissolve marriage contracts but only the husband has the right to grant Khula,” Maulana Sherani told a news conference after the 199th meeting of the CII.

He said the council has recommended an amended computerised Nikkah form to facilitate the masses. Letters will be issued soon to ask concerned ministries to implement the new forms, he added. Regarding the ‘Quran Asan Tehreek’, the CII chairman said the Holy Quran used specific language which should be understood properly in Arabic only and added that such campaigns should not be encouraged.

Talking about transgender people, Maulana Sherani said they were part of society and rather than shunning them, they should be considered a part of their families. “Their male and female genetic analysis should be done and they will be assigned a status accordingly,” he said.

Regarding a decision on the burial of bodies used in medical colleges, the CII chairman said representatives of the Pakistan Medical and Dental Association have been called for the next council meeting to hold a discussion in light of moral ethics and national and international codes of conduct.

 

Published in The Express Tribune, May 28^th, 2015.