Muslim woman takes 'divorce' at press meet

Lucknow :  A Muslim woman has openly announced to take “khula” (divorce) from her husband after her efforts to get it done through Islamic seminaries did not succeed. In Islam, a man can take “talaq”, while a woman can part ways with her husband through “khula”.

Shajada Khatoon, married to Juber Ali, signed a letter for “khula” at a press conference here yesterday. “I tried to take ‘khula’ from my husband. I had approached the Islamic seminaries, Nadwa and Firangi Mahal, but did not get any relief,” she claimed.

“That is why, I am signing the ‘khula’ in the public and sending him (the husband) the notice. I am free from him now,” she said. Muslim Women League general secretary Naish Hasan, who helped Shajada take “khula”, said the woman was fed up with her husband torturing her and had been living separately for the last 18 months.

All India Muslim Personal Law Board executive member Maulana Khalid Rashid Farangi Mahali, however, said the process followed by the woman for “khula” was not correct. “Khula is not done in a single letter. For khula, the woman has to serve a notice on her husband and if he does not respond to three of such notices, it is deemed implemented,” he said.

Asked about the cleric’s stand, Hasan said if he felt that Shajada was wrong, he should approach the court. All India Muslim Women Personal Law Board President Shaista Ambar voiced support for the woman, saying what she did was “valid”.The incident comes at a time when the country is witnessing a raging debate over the issue of triple talaq.