Sharifa

Latifa

Supreme Court

All India Muslim Personal Law Board

Islam

Kondhwa

Umar Masjid

Ramzan

Nehal

Muslim Satyashodhak Mandal

Bagwan Jamaat

Baramati

Aslam Bagwan

Bagwan Jaamat

Shamshudin Tamboli

Hamid Dabholkar

Maharashtra Andhashraddha Nirmoolan Samiti

Their fight against triple talaq has elicited abuse and threats, leading to a possibility of them being ostracised from the community. Such is the fear among them thatand(both names changed) shy away from revealing their real names, despite speaking on public forums against the sharia law a few months ago.Theconcluded its hearing on the matter a couple of months ago, and reserved its verdict even as thedecided to issue an advisory to Qazis to offer an option to women to opt out of the triple talaq system at the time of nikah. As the SC’s final decision is still awaited, the girls’ situation is in sharp juxtaposition to the Muslim personal law board recently issuing a statement claiming that it will boycott those who practice triple talaq.Sharifa, who was married in June 2016, faced harassment at the hands of her husband a few months into their marriage. That her family gifted her stainless steel utensils instead of copper, riled him. She suffered physical abuse and was made to drink shampoo when she was pregnant, which led to an abortion. After her recovery in the hospital, she was sent to her parents’ home, only to be subsequently issued a triple talaq over a WhatsApp message. Sharifa, a student of, did not agree with the norm, and started questioning it instead.She chose the peaceful path of interacting with maulanas to question the validity of this archaic system. She also spoke against it on public forums.According to her, all of it put together managed to anger the leaders of the community, and her family is bearing the brunt of it.She said her brother, aresident, who used to visit thedaily to offer namaz, was summoned by the maulana there during the month of, and asked to bring her over for a dialogue. “Soon after I arrived there, I was asked to switch off my cell phone, and when I refused, they forcefully switched it off. They then questioned my speaking on public forums, insisting that this was a non- Islamic act and demanded an apology. I refused to apologise and instead asked them about the validity of the talaq system, calling attention to the injustice I had suffered,” said Sharifa. “They refused to listen to reason and pronounced that I should not wear a burkha henceforth, as I will not be a part of the Muslim community.” She claimed that since the incident, her brother has also been barred from attending the prayers here. He has since found a different neighbourhood mosque for prayers.When made abreast of the situation, professor, the trustee of Umar Masjid, denied this occurrence, and said, “According to my knowledge, nothing of this sort has happened. Had it been the case, I would certainly have known. None of the maulanas from our masjid will do such a thing.” He added that he will independently inquire into the matter.Latifa’s story is a near mirror-image of Sharifa’s. She was married at 16 and divorced within two years of marriage, after she was evicted from her home with her seven-month-old baby. She spoke about the injustice of the triple talaq at a conference organised by, following which she also gave interviews to the media. This caught the attention of the, the panchayat in, who decided to send the local maulvis to her parents’ home in the district. “They threatened us with consequences if we did not apologise,” said Latifa. Her father said, “I asked them, ‘Why I should apologise?’ If I have at all made a mistake, I will apologise to Allah and Paigamber.”“After our refusal we were summoned by the panchayat, where we were told that whatever I was doing was against our religion. They demanded a written apology, and threatened to make me an outcast if I did not apologise,” said Latifa, adding, “They assured ,e that after the apology, they would speak to my in-laws and mediate to stall the divorce.”Unable to take the repeated pressure from the panchayat, the finally decided to submit the apology on a stamp paper, where Latifa declared that she had spoken to the media under emotional pressure. But, Latifa feels that they may have reneged on their promise, as since the submission, “they are not responding to our calls nor assuring us if they have spoken to my in-laws”.of theaccepted part of the chain of events, but denied that the family were forced to submit the apology. “We spoke to the family to see if the triple talaq issue can be resolved, but we subsequently came to learn that the matter is sub judice. That’s when we decided not to back off. We never asked them for an apology. Nor did we question her for speaking in public against the prevalent practice.”“It’s a sad reality — they cannot attack those who are united, and hence are targeting them individually,” said, an activist working with Muslim Satyashodhak Mandal, and helping the girls with legal aid., an activist with the(MANS), said, “Women are the first victims of any kind of extremism. We hope that these girls will get justice after the Supreme Court pronounces its verdict on triple talaqs. These cases prove the need of the bill against social boycott.”