In 2017, activists of the Mandal met Prime Minister Narendra Modi to seek a ban on polygamy, halala and to ensure that divorces happened only through the courts.
The Parliament may have cleared a law to ban instant triple talaq and make it a criminal offence, but progressive Muslim groups have called for this reform to cover more aspects of Muslim personal law to proscribe polygamy and halala and eventually move towards a uniform civil code (UCC).
"Practices like triple talaq, polygamy and nikah halala can not be seen in isolation. They are unjust and related to each other. If only triple talaq is banned, men will not grant talaq to their wives, but marry for the second time. However, we welcome the triple talaq ban," said Shamshuddin Tamboli, president, Muslim Satyashodhak Mandal, adding that they were demanding that divorces decided only through courts. Tamboli also sought a UCC to deal with issues like marriage, divorce and inheritance.
Hamid Dalwai, a reformer and writer, had campaigned against religious fundamentalism and organised a morcha of Muslim women at the receiving end of oral, one-sided divorce on the state administrative headquarters of Mantralaya on April 18, 1966. He launched the Mandal, which is a Muslim reformist movement, in March 1970.
"In a democracy, freedom is related to issues like religion and faith. (Religious considerations) cannot encroach into the realm of laws. Uniform laws are necessary to ensure exploitation is eradicated," said Tamboli.
While critics have objected to criminal punishment for instant triple talaq, Tamboli said such provisions existed even in Hindu personal laws. For instance, polygamy was banned, and so was child marriage. "Divorce has not been banned, but triple talaq has been proscribed. Divorce being through the proper route will not be criminal," he explained.
In 2017, activists of the Mandal met Prime Minister Narendra Modi to seek a ban on polygamy, halala and to ensure that divorces happened only through the courts. In nikah halala, a divorced woman has to marry another man, consummate the marriage and get divorced again to marry her original husband.
Tamboli said that now, Muslim personal laws allowed only men to grant talaq to their wives, while their wives, in turn, had to approach the courts if they wanted to do likewise.
"All divorce cases must be taken to court to ensure justice. Otherwise, it will be akin to a Khap Panchayat where people can give triple talaq without following the judicial process… we are also demanding that until the divorce case is decided by the court, the man must not be allowed to marry for the second time. Polygamy should also be banned. Otherwise, men will say that instead of giving instant triple talaq to their wives, they will not divorce them, but marry a second woman," he explained.
Tamboli called opponents of the triple talaq law as "hypocrites," as they admitted that a change in the system was needed, yet had opposed the bill. He sought that since criminal laws like the Indian Penal Code, 1860, and Indian Evidence Act, 1872, were applicable to all regardless of religion, a uniform set of family laws be evolved.
The Mandal had also stood by Shah Bano in the landmark case over maintenance for the 60-year old divorced by her husband. Its activists point to how many provisions in the British-era Muslim Personal Law (Shariat) Application Act, 1937, were outdated. Moreover, Islamic countries like Pakistan, Turkey and Bangladesh had done away with oral triple talaq.
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