New fatwa allows women to divorce husband; however, his permission is required

A woman has the right to divorce her husband if he tortures her, is an alcoholic or is suffering from a disease, said a fatwa issued by a cleric at the Dargah Aala Hazrat seminary. However, there is a condition attached to this fatwa:

the man has to give his wife the right to divorce at the time of the wedding or afterwards, and the woman can say the word 'talaq' to end marital ties.

After a resident of Kanpur asked the seminary about the rights of women to ask for divorce, Mufti Mohammed Saleem Noori, who is also s spokesperson of the seminary, issued a fatwa saying that a wife too can give divorce.

"Most of the people are under the assumption that only a husband can give divorce, but the wife too can do so and there are certain conditions for this. If the man has given his wife the right to divorce at the time of the wedding or afterwards, the woman can say the word 'talaq' to end marital ties. If the husband gave the permission for single talaq, the woman can say it once and divorce will be granted. If the husband granted the right for double or triple talaq, the woman has to say talaq according to the right. This procedure of taking divorce is called Tafeez-e-Talaq," Noori was quoted by The Times of India.

Other major clauses for a woman obtaining divorce are that husband should be alcoholic, suffering from disease or disability, unable to fulfil his duty as a husband or if he physically assaults his wife.

"There have been many cases reported from European countries where abusive husbands did not give divorce to their wives, fearing that they will have to give some share of property to them. However, in such cases, the wives lead a pathetic life but they can end their relationship through this Tafeez-e-Talaq procedure," Noori was quoted.

In Islam, there is another way of ending marriage -- Khula. "Tafeez-e-Talaq and Khula are different as women opts for Khula when she wants divorce but the husband is not ready. For coaxing the husband to end the marriage, the woman can offer money, property or some other items in exchange of divorce. However, in Tafeez-e-Talaq, the husband gives maintenance to the wife," said Noori.