The All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) on Thursday stated that a Muslim woman does not enjoy the right to end her marriage through Khula. Further, they said that the husband reserves the right to accept or reject her demand for Khula.
In a statement, the Board said, “Khula is dependent on both husband and wife agreeing to end marriage after a woman initiates the proposal”.
The Board’s response comes shortly after the Kerala High Court declared that a Muslim woman does have the right to end her marriage through Khula.
Justice A. Muhamed Mustaque and Justice C.S. Dias stated, “In the absence of any mechanism in the country to recognize the termination of marriage at the instance of the wife when the husband refuses to give consent, the court can simply hold that Khula can be invoked without the conjunction of the husband. This is a typical review portraying that Muslim women are subordinate to the will of their male counterparts. This review doesn’t look innocuous at the instance of the appellant but rather appears to have been fashioned and supported by clergies and the hegemonic masculinity of the Muslim community who are unable to digest the declaration of the right of Muslim women to resort to the extrajudicial divorce of Khula, unilaterally.”
