An Islamic practice permitting men to instantly divorce their wives has been declared unconstitutional by India’s supreme court after decades of campaigning by women’s groups and victims.

The “triple talaq” has allowed Muslim men to dissolve marriages by pronouncing the word “divorce” three times. The supreme court in Delhi took up the issue last year in response to a petition from seven victims and women’s groups. A majority of the bench declared on Wednesday that triple talaq was “not integral to religious practice and violates constitutional morality”.

Campaigners hailed the supreme court’s 3-2 decision as a huge victory for India’s 90 million Muslim women. “It’s a very happy day for us. It’s a historic day,” said Zakia Soman, the co-founder of the Bharatiya Muslim Mahila Andolan (BMMA), an activist group that was party to the legal battle. “We, the Muslim women, are entitled to justice from the courts as well as the legislature.”The Indian prime minister, Narendra Modi, also welcomed the verdict: A national survey conducted in 2015 by the BMMA found roughly 1 in 11 Muslim women were survivors of triple talaq, the vast majority receiving no alimony or compensation. Clerics had also started recognising instant divorces where the word “talaq” had been texted or emailed.(theguardian)…[+]