The All India Muslim Personal Law Board wants to make men commit at the time of their nikah (marriage) that they will not instantly divorce their wives through triple talaq. The board may soon introduce the provision in its model nikahnama, a spokesperson told PTI.

The nikahnama is the marriage contract in Islam.

The board will discuss the matter when it meets in Hyderabad on February 9. It is also likely to discuss dowry and the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid dispute in the two-day meeting.

“We are making a provision in the model nikahnama in which there will be a column – ‘I will not give triple talaq’,” the board’s spokesperson Khalil-ur-Rehman Sajjad Nomani said. “Once this column is ticked during nikah, one will not be able to give triple talaq.”

Nomani also said the board would “work hard” to spread the message about the evils of dowry and triple talaq.

“The board is running a big campaign in the country,” he said. “The messengers of the board will reach every madrassa and mosque and tell people to stay away from social evils like dowry and triple talaq. If the need for divorce arises, then one should first contact and consult a cleric and stay away from triple talaq.”

The AIMPLB has said it opposes triple talaq, but wants changes in a bill that the Lok Sabha passed in December 2017. The Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Bill, 2017 is awaiting the approval of the Rajya Sabha.

After the Lok Sabha passed the bill, the Muslim body said it would take steps through democratic means to “amend, improve or scrap” it. The bill proposes criminalising triple talaq, and a three-year jail term for men who violate the law.

Triple talaq is the practice of divorcing by uttering the word “talaq” thrice.