Pregnant woman writes to PM Modi, CM Yogi, urges to put end to triple talaq

New Delhi: The Supreme Court will hear on Thursday various petitions on the Constitutional legitimacy of triple talaq and polygamy in the Muslim community. Meanwhile, a three-month pregnant woman had written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi urging to bring to end Triple Talaq after her husband abandoned her fearing she may give birth to a girl again. The woman, Shagufta, has claimed her in-laws were pressurising her to go for abortion, while her husband had verbally divorced her over the issue and threw her out of the house. The mother of two girls has written to Prime Minister Modi and sent a copy of the letter to Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath to apprise them of her situation. Working on the complaint of Shagufta, the police on Wednesday filed an FIR and initiated probe in the matter which was reported in Nanauta area of Saharanpur on March 24. In her letter, Shagufta said she was married to Shamshad, resident of Budhakheda village, five years ago. They had two daughters which had angered her in-laws who wanted her to abort her three-month old foetus, fearing she may again give birth to a girl. She claimed that she was assaulted by her in-laws and husband, who gave her 'triple talaq' (verbal divorce) after which she was left on road to die. Triple talaq is a Sharia law that gives a man the right to end the marriage by verbally saying 'Talaq' thrice to his wife. Triple talaq-hit women voted for BJP in UP: Prasad The Muslim women "affected by the triple talaq practice voted for the BJP in good numbers" during the recent Uttar Pradesh assembly elections, had claimed Union Minister for Law and Justice Ravi Shankar Prasad recently. "In Uttar Pradesh, the women who have been affected due to the practice of triple talaq, voted for the BJP in good numbers. The state has the highest number of victims of this practice," said Prasad, who was here for the 8th Convocation of the Gujarat National Law University. "It is unfortunate that (BSP supremo) Mayawati, (former Chief Minister) Akhilesh Yadav's wife Dimple or (Congress leader) Priyanka Gandhi are silent on the issue," he said. Prasad said the central government has placed before the Supreme Court a strong argument against the triple talaq, as the practice is "not an issue of religion, but of gender justice, gender equality and gender dignity."