Opinion - Letters to the Editor   

Laudable verdict

Once again the Supreme Court has risen to the occasion, this time to bring solace to a poor Muslim couple in Orissa ("Protect fatwa-separated couple: court," April 22). If the man and wife want to live together, clerics have no business separating them. It is time the outdated rule — that once a triple talaq is pronounced, whatever the circumstances, the couple must separate — was reviewed. The responsibility is much more on Muslim women to force the review of a law that makes them vulnerable.

Sanjay Thacheril,
Ernakulam, Kerala

* * *

The plight of Muslim women has been underscored yet again by the fatwa issued to Nazma Biwi by clerics to live apart after her husband uttered talaq in a drunken state. It is heartening to note that the apex court has come to their rescue. A fatwa has no legal basis because its acceptance, direct or indirect, will mean according sanction to a parallel system of justice.

Hema Satyakal,
Hyderabad

* * *

Nazma's courage and her husband's determination to stand by her are laudable. One hopes increasing awareness among Muslims against fanatical conservatism will help the women of the community assert their rights.

R. Ponnarassi,
Vellore, T.N.

* * *

The couple is now sandwiched between opposite sections. While the court has ruled in Nazma's favour and directed the Government to give police protection to her and her husband, they will have to face a lot of opposition from the community, particularly muftis, who see in the verdict a challenge to their power. Many families have already suffered because of the triple talaq. The clerics should sit together to evolve a single law governing divorce that does not afford scope for various interpretations.

Ahmad Rais Siddiqi,
New Delhi

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