Majority of Muslim women in India opposed to oral divorce: survey

Survey reveals 88.3% of women were in favour of a form of divorce which offers a scope for reconciliation

A recent survey in India revealed that 92.1 per cent of Muslim women in the country were opposed to oral divorce while 88.3 per cent were in favour of a form of divorce which offers scope for reconciliation.

The survey, conducted by the Bhartiya Muslim Mahila Andolan (BMMA), found that 88.3 per cent of those surveyed were more agreeable to another form of divorce, Talaq-e-ahsan, which offered a scope for reconciliation. As opposed to unilateral divorce, in Talaq-e-Ahsan, the divorce is pronounced once with room for reconciliation and it can be reversed if both parties agree.

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As for custody of children after divorce, 88.9 per cent were in favour of having custody of children with 95.6 per cent wanting the ex-husband to pay maintenance for children. Further, 75.5 per cent were against marriage of girls below the age of 18 and 88.3 per cent wanted the age of marriage of boys to be over 21 years.

Bhartiya Muslim Mahil Andolan founder member Noorjehan Safia Niaz said, “The objective was to find what Muslim women seek in Muslim Personal Law. The survey was to voice aspirations of women in the community.”

Of the women interviewed, 55.3 per cent of the respondents married before the age of 18, and 53.2 per cent had faced domestic abuse. Further, 78.7 per cent of the respondents were homemakers and 73.1 per cent had an annual family income of less than INR 50,000.

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However, a far more troubling revelation was that, of the 4,500 women interviewed, 95.5 per cent were unaware of the All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) that looks after Muslim Personal Law in India.

Despite the findings, the AIMPLB is skeptical about the results of the survey. “Which sane Muslim person in the country is not aware of the AIMPLB,” Maulana Abdul Raheem Qureshi, spokesperson of the AIMPLB said.

Maulana Qureshi further said the AIMPLB was not in favour of abolishing oral divorce as it gave a way out of a tough marriage. “Look at dowry deaths in Hindu women… The Islamic system allows couples a chance of coming out of a bad relationship. Other religions do not do so easily…,” Maulana Qureshi added.

Although the Muslim clergy is against any change in the Islamic laws, many women’s groups have called for the Muslim Personal Law to be codified so that it is barred from interpretations.

This article originally appeared on The Indian Express