Ban on triple talaq: Ahmadiyya Muslims welcome SC verdict, raise pitch for Uniform Civil Code

Islam is not monochromatic. The Ahmadiyyas, one of the many sects of Islam, have supported a ban on the controversial triple talaq, for long. The small community of about 1.5 lakh followers, whose headquarters is at Qadian, Punjab, has now gone a step further pronouncing its support for Uniform Civil Code. The reason for the community’s opposition to triple talaq is based on the practices followed by them. The community lays great emphasis on educating its women and offers financial support for higher or professional education of its women, who must, at least, be a graduate before they think of marriage. Women’s education goes a long way in defining equal social terms. [caption id=“attachment_3961639” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational Image. Firstpost[/caption] The right to seek a divorce too is enjoyed by both the genders. The community, however, tries its best to ensure that a couple once married, stays together. If divorce becomes unavoidable, the man or woman, whosoever seeking it, has to give a notice of divorce to the community office called Darul Qaza, with two witnesses, who would vouch for the authenticity of ground for seeking a divorce. After receiving the notice, the office gives the estranged couple three month’s time to reconcile. During this period the woman has to stay back in her husband’s house and make an effort to reconcile. Ditto goes for the man. Within this period the elders from both families are told to intervene for a reconciliation. This period of three months is called tehkeen, which has several stages of reconciliation. At the end of tehkeen, if the couple still thinks that the marriage cannot work, once again it’s the job of Darul Qaza to work out details like custody of the children, the amount of maintenance and its duration to be paid by the man, and the issue of inheritance, division of property, etc. Here again, the community strives to be just to both the man and the woman, depending upon the financial status, age, number of children, etc, of the couple. “Divorces are few, but when they do happen, it’s almost an equal number of men and women who are seeking to end marriages. It’s not that men alone have the right to divorce,” says Tariq Ahmad Ahmadiyya, spokesperson of Ahmadiyya Muslim Ja’amat, India. “Our community has no fear of the scrapping of triple talaq because the couple is given time to think over and reconcile, and justice is done to both parties even if they wish to go separate ways. We also support Uniform Civil Code because we adhere to the fair practices of inheritance, marriage, and divorce. And since we adhere to a uniform criminal code then why not have Uniform Civil Code too,” he adds.