The triple talaq bill made big noise when it was drafted last year, but it is still to serve its purpose
It has been a year since the Supreme Court바카라s gavel fell on triple talaq바카라the practice of Muslim men divorcing their wives by uttering the word 바카라talaq바카라 (divorce) thrice. But the government is struggling to get the bill passed. The All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) says it oversteps the mandate given by the apex court.
In the meantime, many Muslim women continue to wait for the justice promised to them. Shaheen, 38, of Ratnagiri district in Maharashtra was divorced by her husband over WhatApp! This happened after the SC바카라s 2017 judgment, but the law is still not in place to provide justice to her. She바카라s partially-disabled and has been divorced once before. She met her second husband, the Saudi Arabia-based Asad, on Facebook. The two were hitched in a brief ceremony and Asad took off for Saudi Arabia soon after. In a few months, his calls and messages stopped, then, one day, he simply texted 바카라talaq바카라 to her.
She tried contacting him, but he had cut her off. Even the cops couldn바카라t trace him. 바카라What has happened to me is unfair. They (his family) want us to agree to a mutual divorce (moklik), without maintenance. I hope something will be done when the new law is in force,바카라 says Shaheen.
Zainab (32), from Mumbai, faced similar injustice. She married her cousin, who had a degree in hotel management from a UK university. The promise of a cushy life in Mumbai dissipated soon after the 2012 wedding. Zainab바카라s in-laws harassed her for dowry and her husband used her gold jewellery as collateral to borrow money for his business.
When she lodged a domestic violence FIR, her husband sent her talaq messages through WhatsApp, and later by post. This too happened after the 2017 verdict. Now, the husband is engaged to another woman, while Zainab is left stranded. The police have been of little help.
바카라Around 300 cases of triple talaq were reported over the past year,바카라 says Zafaryab Jilani, secretary, AIMPLB. 바카라The rate was more in earlier years, though there바카라s no concrete data. So, 300 is not an alarming figure. There바카라s no opposition from the community to the judgment. But the issue around the bill is separate from what the SC ruled; that decision was restricted to instant talaq,바카라 he adds.
The Narendra Modi government drafted the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Bill last year. The opposition had raised objection to it in the Lok Sabha since it prescribed a jail term for offenders.
바카라We are worried about the criminalisation aspect, given how things have become for the minorities. If triple talaq is not valid, there was no need to try making it a non-bailable offence (it is now bailable) against men,바카라 says Hasina Khan, of Bebaak Collective. 바카라The issue of rights of Muslim women should not be used to push proposals like the uniform civil code,바카라 she adds. She also points to how politics played to divide opinion on an issue that clearly needed to be addressed by law: 바카라Soon after the SC바카라s decision last year, political parties got involved and there was an attempt of pitting women against women by the AIMPLB, which is unfortunate.바카라
The government later ironed out the chinks, in consultation with stakeholders, and introduced provisions for bail. 바카라The first draft was rather abrupt, focused on punishment rather than justice for the women. Following our suggestions, the government amended the law, and now, only women or their blood relatives can lodge an FIR,바카라 says Zakia Soman, convenor of the Bharatiya Muslim Mahila Andolan (BMMA). 바카라Earlier, there was a provision for subsistence allowance for only six months for the divorced woman, without clarity of who was to bear that expense. The amendments cleared matters related to maintenance and the custody of children.바카라
The Lok Sabha passed the bill in December last year, but it stopped short of becoming a law. It바카라s pending with the Rajya Sabha. It wasn바카라t taken up during this 바카라monsoon session바카라 of Parliament, while opposition parties demanded that a select committee of the Upper House scrutinise it.
Sources say that the government is considering an ordinance to enforce the law while the bill is pending clearance. But even that would have to go through a parliamentary approval.
바카라Despite the PM바카라s interest in the issue, there is resistance from the opposition parties, which is quite demotivating because this is about gender justice and not politics. Muslim women continue to be ruled under a colonial law which favours a patriarchal system,바카라 says Tanveer Nasreen, head of women바카라s studies at Burdwan University. 바카라Earlier this year, we met the President and made a request for an ordinance,바카라 she adds.
Several organisations in various parts of the country have been working on sensitising Muslim women on what they are entitled to since the Supreme Court ruling on the issue.
바카라Muslim women have filed several FIRs against the arbitrary instant talaq after it was declared void by the SC. They can no longer be suppressed in the name of religious tradition,바카라 says Nasreen.
BMMA conducts workshops and has distributed thousands of pamphlets in many languages. These contain extracts from the Quran that prescribe education to women and their equality with men in certain contexts.
바카라During our work, Muslim women made it clear that they want the law. Families have started to understand that polygamy in the contemporary context, instant talaq and nikah halala, are not part of the Quran. Now, even older women and families come back to say that it is unfair to take away the gender justice prescribed by the Quran,바카라 says Soman.
BMMA founder Noorjehan Safia Niaz sheds light on different pressure tactics being used on women in Sharia courts, asking them to agree for divorce. 바카라But it바카라s at least possible to negotiate in these matters, better than being left in the lurch after giving divorce through text messages. Also, the men in the community are increasingly supporting the court verdict. But unless the law comes into force soon, there is a risk of this positive response fizzling out slowly.바카라
The triple talaq issue has attracted much political attention ever since the government decided to push for a bill against it. Next on the anvil is the uniform civil code, which is being drawn up by the law commission and is likely to be announced soon.
By Ushinor Majumdar and Prachi Pinglay-Plumber