Events

Guest Speaker: Fayiza Puthiya Peedikayil, Warwick Law School

Title: (Re)constructing the ‘Destitution’ Narrative and Instrumentalising Muslim Women’s Rights: A Critique of the Criminalisation of Triple Talaq in India.

Abstract: In 2019, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government criminalised the practice of triple talaq in India through the enactment of the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Act (MWMA), following judicial direction in the Shayara Bano case. This form of divorce – extra-judicial, unilateral, and instantaneous – had long been subject to critique by secular reformists, with calls for legislative intervention dating back to the 1970s. Central to these demands was concern for Muslim women who were often rendered destitute following divorce, left without financial support, maintenance, or access to the matrimonial home. Early interventions to address this issue focused primarily on securing post-divorce maintenance as a means of providing sustained support to divorced Muslim women. Historically, such efforts encountered significant resistance from sections of the Muslim community. Although the Supreme Court of India had previously extended maintenance rights to Muslim divorcees in several cases, these measures were widely regarded as insufficient to address Muslim women’s destitution resulting from triple talaq, as reflected in Shayara Bano itself. In this paper, I will examine the extent to which the enactment of the MWMA (re)constructs the narrative of the ‘destitute’ Muslim woman and evaluate its limitations in advancing Muslim women’s rights – particularly in light of the ruling right-wing Hindu nationalist party’s instrumentalisation of Muslim women’s rights. I will further analyse the arguments advanced both in support of and against the criminalisation of triple talaq during Indian parliamentary debates, with particular attention to the rhetorical deployment of the ‘destitute’ Muslim woman narrative. Finally, I will engage with feminist, activist and reformist responses to the criminalisation of triple talaq, highlighting their broader implications for the advancement of Muslim women’s rights in India.