I was reading
this article in New Age IslamLast week, Naish created ripples in conservative Lucknow by dashing off a letter to the octogenarian president of the All India Muslim Personal Law Board. Pressing for inclusion of women's issues on the agenda in its next executive meeting, it pointedly demanded a ban on Halala and triple Talaq, apart from recommending a codification of the Sharia to escape misinterpretation. "The response from AIMPLB, was as anticipated - nil, " says Naish.
In her letter, Naish mentioned seven victims who were subjected to Halala an excruciating two to eight times. One of them is Zainab Rubaiya whose husband literally turned her into a prostitute "He would pronounce 'Talaq Talaq Talaq' when drunk, when annoyed, when fired from his job, when clubbed by the beat constable or when I stopped his mother from hitting me with a ladle, " she says. "Any occasion was good enough to boot me out. "
Zainab recollects that after every Halala, her husband would weep, standing alongside their children. "I bore Halala seven times. It's a terrible feeling to walk down the road, knowing that everyone in the Mohalla keeps a count of your moles and curves, “she says, teary-eyed. For women like Munni, whose brother-in-law volunteered for Halala, the situation is even more humiliating. "Imagine facing him every day and pretending to be normal, " she says.
This horrible practice seems to me to be illustrative of the gross stupidity of following the dictates of a 7th-century Prophet without engaging the brain. It also demonstrates a total lack of respect for women as fellow human beings.