NEW DELHI: The Indian government Wednesday issued an executive order making the Islamic practice of "instant divorce" a criminal offence punishable by up to three years in prison.
The controversial move brings an outright ban on "triple talaq" -- when a Muslim man ends his marriage by saying "talaq" ("you are divorced" in Arabic) three times in succession -- a step closer.
Muslim women say they have been divorced over messaging apps like WhatsApp or in letters, leaving them without any legal remedy.
India´s lower house, controlled by Prime Minister Narendra Modi´s Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP), passed legislation outlawing the practice in December.
But it got stuck in the upper house, prompting the government to issue Wednesday´s executive order. It now needs only approval from the president to become law.
"There was a constitutional urgency to bring this law. The curse of triple talaq has continued unabated," Ravi Shankar Prasad, law and justice minister, told reporters.
In August 2017, India´s Supreme Court declared "triple talaq" unconstitutional and ordered the government to legislate against it.
Prasad said that 201 cases have been reported across the country even after the top court´s order.
The BJP has long pushed for a uniform civil code for marriage, divorce and property. India´s constitution allows followers of each faith to use their religious laws to govern such matters.
But India´s 180-million-strong Muslim community has historically opposed such a move, saying it will erode their religious identity and violate the constitution.
Critics have long accused Modi, who is supported by hardline Hindu nationalists and who is running for re-election in 2019, of demonising Muslims for political ends.
"The BJP´s stand on the Muslim plight is well known and they have little sympathy for the community," said Yogendra Yadav, an academic and politician who heads the socio-political organisation Swaraj India.
R S Surjewala, a spokesman for the opposition Congress party, said that the next step would be to ensure Muslim women get alimony.
"But the Modi government would not want that, they don´t want upliftment of Muslim women," he told news channels.