Fund for talaq victims

Lucknow: The All India Muslim Personal Law Board is planning to offer financial assistance to victims of instant triple talaq, at a time there is a perception that it is facing a trust deficit for its alleged failure to provide social security to women.

The board may resolve at its Hyderabad meeting on February 9 to create a corpus of funds to help women who have been given the instant divorce. It may also introduce a provision of the qazi taking an undertaking from the groom during nikah (marriage) that he would not pronounce the instant triple talaq.

Maulana Khalil-ur-Rahman Sajjad Nomani, spokesperson of the law board which enjoys the support of the majority of Sunni Muslims in the country, said in Lucknow on Monday that these proposals would be introduced at the Hyderabad session.

"We don't want the cases of (instant) triple talaq to reach court. We believe that paying maintenance to women will reduce this tendency," Nomani said.

"The shariah has the provision of helping orphans, the poor, widows and divorced women from waqf properties. There was a provision of providing pension to helpless women during the Caliphate's time in Arabia," Nomani said, claiming that the majority of women move court in instant triple talaq cases for alimony.

"The waqf properties across the country are mostly in the control of the governments, which is not inclined to use its income to help the women. So the board has planned to take the initiative and create a funds' corpus for the distressed women," he added.