UP Man Gives Triple Talaq To Wife Who Donated Kidney To Her Brother

A 40-year-old woman in Uttar Pradesh's Gonda was given triple talaq by her husband through a WhatsApp text because she refused to take 40 lakh rupees from her brother for donating one of her kidneys. She has lodged an FIR against her husband and the Police have booked him under the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Act, 2019, along with the Dowry Prohibition Act and other sections of the IPC.

Details of the case

The woman, who goes by the name Tarannum, lodged an FIR against her husband, Abdul Rashid (44) working in Saudi Arabia, on Wednesday. According to the FIR, Tarannum's brother, Mohammad Shakir, was suffering from kidney failure. He was undergoing treatment in Mumbai. To save her brother's life, Tarannum agreed to donate one of her kidneys. 

However, her husband Abdul was not happy with this. He pressured Tarannum to extort 40 lakh rupees from her brother in exchange for the kidney. "When I refused, he pronounced 'triple talaq' through WhatsApp," Tarannum said. 

In November, another case of triple talaq surfaced from UP's Kanpur. A woman named Gulsaiba was given triple talaq by her husband in Saudi Arabia over a video call. Do you know the reason? Because Gulsaiba got her eyebrows done. 

The menace of triple talaq

Triple Talaq was pronounced illegal and unconstitutional in the year 2019. The parliament declared it as a punishable offence, with a jail term of three years, through a 2019 Act. However, it is still practised in India with many cases of women being deserted by their husbands by uttering the word 'talaq' three times. 

According to a report by India Today, Muslim women who suffer under the menace of triple talaq face difficulty in lodging FIRs. The report talked about the case of a woman who was given triple talaq by her husband in the year 2021. A mother of two, she was a survivor of domestic violence. Even though she faced physical abuse for many years, she was not ready to dissolve her marriage for her and her children's welfare. However, when her husband pronounced triple talaq, she fought back.

She tried to register an FIR with the Police but it was not taken into consideration. The police demanded a proper witness who could vouch for her triple talaq, even though no such requirement is mandated by the law. But since her husband gave her talaq in front of her in-laws, she couldn't produce a witness. So she had to file an FIR under the Domestic Violence Act.

Why, despite the ban on the triple talaq practice, Muslim women are being randomly abandoned by their husbands? Why is it difficult for men to abide by the laws? Moreover, are the safety protocols of the country for Muslim women, and women in general, working efficiently? These are some of the questions that we need to raise each time unlawful incidents plague the lives of women.  

Views expressed by the author are their own