The controversy has been going on for decades about Muslim personal law. While an enlightened section of the Muslim community has been advocating the merger of Muslim personal law in the uniform civil code, the Union government has been fighting shy of bringing it about. The reason seems to be the apprehension of the ruling parties that it will antagonise the Muslim vote bank. Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi went to the extent of setting aside the Supreme Court award on the Shah Bano case to placate orthodox Muslims. It is good that that the Centre has now told the Supreme Court to abolish triple Talaq and polygamy among Muslims. These are considered to be unconstitutional customs threatening gender equality and women’s dignity. The Centre however has not demanded a uniform civil code. The union legislative department says that there can be no compromise on these matters. Triple talaq means that a Muslim husband, according to the Shariah, can say Talaq (divorce) three times and put away his wife. What is most objectionable is that while Muslim men have the right to triple talaq and polygamy Muslim women do not have the same rights.
The Centre has pointed out that several Islamic countries-Bangladesh, Morocco, Tunisia, Turkey, Indonesia, Egypt and Iran have reformed their laws to give women equal rights in matrimony. But India still has not done so. The Centre has also said their reforms in Islamic countries prove that these fundamentalist practices are not an integral part of Islam. The apex court has taken a progressive stand on many issues and may cause a breakthrough on the subject in question. But Parliament may have difficulty in passing legislation to ensure such gender equality.