Our Journal

New Yorks "Get Law" and Talaq Refusal: Could the Same Statute Protect Muslim Wives?

New York has a 40-year-old statute designed to stop husbands from weaponizing religious divorce refusal — written in deliberately neutral language that, on its face, isn't limited to Jewish couples. Real case law shows exactly how far it can go, and where it stops.

Shayara Bano v. Union of India: How One Woman Case Banned Instant Triple Talaq for 200 Million Muslims

In 2017, India's Supreme Court struck down instant triple talaq — ruling, in a split decision, that the practice had no Quranic sanction and was unconstitutionally arbitrary. The reasoning matters for the global Islamic legal conversation far beyond India's borders.

Egypts Khul Law: How a 2000 Reform Gave Muslim Women a Religiously Grounded Right to Divorce

For most of the 20th century, an Egyptian wife seeking divorce had to prove harm in court, often for years, against a husband who simply denied everything. In 2000, a single reform let her divorce unilaterally — by giving up her financial claims instead. Here's how khul' actually works, and what the data shows about its real-world impact.

Hassam v Jacobs: How South Africas Constitutional Court Gave Polygamous Muslim Wives Inheritance Rights

A South African Muslim widow was told her marriage didn't count — because her husband had also married a second wife. The Constitutional Court's answer reshaped inheritance law for South Africa's Muslim community, and built on an earlier case that almost left her out entirely.

Bruker v. Marcovitz: The Supreme Court of Canada Ruling That Could Make Your Talaq Promise Legally Binding

A Jewish husband refused to give his ex-wife a religious divorce for 15 years. Canada's Supreme Court ordered him to pay damages anyway — because he had promised to, in writing. The reasoning behind that ruling opens a real door for Muslim couples drafting talaq and mahr clauses in their own nikah contracts.

Sharbatly v Shagroon: The UK Case Where a Recognized Talaq Still Left the Wife With Nothing

The husband's Saudi talaq was valid under English law. That should have opened the door to a financial claim — except the Court of Appeal ruled the door was never there at all, because the underlying nikah itself was never a recognized marriage. This is the gap that can leave a wife with nothing on both sides of the ledger.