Brave young Muslim bride ‘divorces’ husband on phone after family demands more dowry

Lucknow, July 26: A bold young muslim girl of 19 years is being lauded for paving the way for many others in the fight against the deeply entrenched system of Dowry demand in the Indian society.  The girl from UP’s Daha,a village in the Baghpat district made her groom apologize over phone before pronouncing “talaq, talaq, talaq” and disconnecting the phone according to a news report.

The turn of events happened when the family of Mohammed Arif, the groom, made demands for more dowry. The young girl called up her mother Anwari Begum who promptly asked her to return home.

“I had already given household things to them to start a new life. But my daughter called me after reaching her in-laws’ home saying they were expecting cash and a car,” local media quoted Anwari as saying. “That’s why I asked my daughter to return.”

Around 500 people, comprising of both Hindus and Muslims, who had gathered together at the ‘unofficial’ khap panchayat had suggested the apology as a solution but least expected the young bride to make the drastic move. After efforts to pacify the young bride failed the ‘panchayat’ asked Arif to repeat the words and make the divorce official. Sattar, the father of the groom will have to pay Anwari the Rs 2 lakh she had spent on the wedding.

Maulana Mohammad Farman, imam of the Jama Masjid in Daha, said the talaq over the mobile phone was valid. “The village elders heard it. The bride and the groom identified each other on the mobile phone. A community is free to ostracise a greedy family.”

As a punitive measure the “panchayat” also banned Sattar’s family from having any weddings for the next three years – a ban , that though not legal, does carry immense weight because of the prestige and respect the traditional village councils enjoy.

The triple talaq has always been an  exclusive privilege of Muslim men and is often in the news for the wrong reasons. Women’s rights groups have long called for an abolishment of the same and an update of Muslim Personal laws.