NEW DELHI: A survey of Muslim women—victims of triple talaq-- found that 6 out of 10 women were given divorce unilaterally by their husbands. In almost all other cases the divorce was one-sided with the woman informed about it by her relatives, the local Qazi or through sms or e-mail.

An earlier study by the NGO Bharatiya Muslim Mahila Andolan (BMMA) had found that 92% of Muslim women were opposed to triple talaq .

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The present survey conducted on 117 women based across the country revealed that in 54% cases, the husband remarried almost immediately and almost 80% women were deprived of maintenance. About 16% of women did not know the mehr (payment or possessions given by the groom’s family to the bride) amount fixed during the nikah and in 56% of the cases they were deprived of this token amount itself.

BMMA co-founder Zakia Soman has demanded that ‘triple talaq’ should be banned. ``We are not in favour of uniform civil code but for reforms in the Muslim personal law and banning triple talaq will be the first step towards it,’’ she said.

The study conducted by BMMA reads like a “horror story and reveals what havoc gross misuse of the noble Islamic law is playing in society,’’ said Prof Tahir Mahmood, a legal scholar.

Like Lubna Choudhury, who was beaten so mercilessly by her husband that glass shards were found in her uterus. “I was married at 20 and was a mother within months of marriage. But my husband had a flirty nature and did not pay any attention to his family. When I spoke about it, I was beaten,’’ she said.

The feisty girl, who fought with her mother when she tried to stop her from studying and even went to the extent of breaking the lock on her house door to appear in class VIII exam, found her spirit broken by the incessant torture but refused to give up. “One day he locked the door and pulled out a rod. I couldn’t fight back. I don’t remember how long I was beaten but when the door opened it scared the relatives enough to take me to a hospital,’’ she said.

The injuries proved to be a turning point. Choudhury, a Mumbai resident, has now given up her naqab, is taking taekwondo lessons, and has learnt how to ride a bike. She has refused to accept the ‘triple talaq’ given to her in 2008 and is fighting for her maintenance rights.

But it is a lonely battle. Take Bhopal-based Shama (name changed to protect identity) who was married in the family of an influential religious cleric. Her lean frame covered in a burqa and gloves can barely hold her two-year-old but her voice is steady and eyes dry as she rattles off her story. “They just wanted a domestic help. I was beaten and not allowed to be with my husband. Then one day my father-in-law beat up my husband forcing him to say talaq thrice. I tried very hard to mediate, to make peace but I was not allowed to meet my husband,’’ she said.

Fortunately for Shama, her parents supported her. “I am fighting my case in court. Except I cannot shame them publicly because they are influential and I have my old parents and children to think about,’’ she said.

