The Allahabad High Court observed this week that triple talaq is “cruel” and unconstitutional. Triple talaq—or, more accurately, instant triple talaq—is a practice wherein a Muslim man pronounces talaq thrice in one sitting, thereby ending his marriage irrevocably. Though accounts of its prevalence vary, many Muslim women now stand against it as a dehumanising practice. The Bharatiya Muslim Mahila Andolan (BMMA), which has approached the Supreme Court seeking a ban on instant triple talaq and wants it declared unconstitutional, has found in a recent survey of 4,710 women, of whom 525 were divorcees, that 346 were divorced by instant triple talaq. That is an overwhelming 65 per cent.