By Ila Ananya
Rukhsana Nikhat Lari, who used to be a part of the All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB), has found that her term as an AIMPLB member hasn’t been renewed. The reason? Her continued opposition to the practice of triple talaq.
Lari was one of the four women who’d joined the 51-member AIMPLB executive committee back in 2010, but while the AIMPLB has told various media organisations that they haven’t renewed her membership, they haven’t given any reason. Since not all the term members are replaced every three years, the decision on whether to renew a membership is done on a case-to-case basis, and it seems increasingly obvious that has been Lari’s continuous opposition to triple talaq and not towing the AIMPLB’s line that has led to her ousting.
But as Lari told HuffPost India, the rift between her and the AIMPLB has only became evident after she told those who asked her at a press conference organised by the AIMPLB in Lucknow, that she thought the current practice of triple talaq had no place in the Koran. Ever since then, Lari has not been allowed to talk at any press conference organised by the AIMPLB.
One of the things that AIMPLB has repeated time and again has been that they have collected 81 crore signatures (including 2.71 crore women), who believe that the Muslim personal law must be followed. Lari, however, has reportedly said that women who signed, aren’t aware of their rights.
What’s also strange, is that Lari has said she believes in a step-by-step divorce over three months as explained in the Koran — something that the AIMPLB has been all too quick to pick up on and present in their new eight-point guide on divorce. Of course, women who have been fighting triple talaq have also said that this AIMPLB announcement is still unimpressive and means nothing.
It’s obvious that the AIMPLB was under immense pressure to feel the need to do a complete turn on their position on triple talaq. And as Lari told HuffPost India, “It is countries and men that make life so hard for women, not Islam.”