On Thursday last, the Lok Sabha passed the highly debatable Bill that criminalises instant triple talaq and makes it punishable by up to three years’ imprisonment for the husband; a development hailed by the Union Government as “historic” but disapproved of by a section of the opposition. The Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Bill, 2017 was passed by a voice vote after rejecting a resolution moved by Revolutionary Socialist Party member NK Premachandran that the legislative move be circulated for public opinion. By introducing the Bill, the Narendra Modi Government also fulfilled its electoral promise made to Indian Muslim women victims of triple talaq. Within minutes of the Lok Sabha clearing the Bill, widespread celebrations began across the country and Muslim women welcomed the move.
Shabiha Nur Khatoon, on behalf of The Pioneer, talked to a cross-section of the society to know their take on the issue.
President of the All India Muslim Women Personal Law Board (AIMWPLB), Lucknow, Shaista Amber hailed the Bill but insisted that it should be in the light of the Quran.
“We welcome the tabling of the Bill as it has given lots of hope to Muslim women as the Triple Talaq is an evil that has been haunting them,” she said. Amber, however, added that any law enacted in this regard should be in the light of the Quran and the Constitution to make it acceptable to the community.
“Triple Talaq is a harsh way to destroy the lives of women and it should be banned as it is un-Islamic. We support the Government for bringing the Bill as it protects the right of Muslim women who are treated as slaves by men,” she added.
Amber, who was the petitioner in the Shah Bano case, informed that she has, meanwhile, met the Prime Minister and put forward her demand that if a woman gets divorce from her husband and there is no one to look after her in the future course of time then the Government should take initiative to provide her food and shelter.
MA Ahad, a resident of Bhubaneswar, said, “Abolition of the Triple Talaq is just a political gimmick. In order to merely please a section of the society, the present disposition at the Centre has introduced this Bill. In no way, the Muslim women will be protected from the evil of divorce and their predicaments ameliorated. Talaq given three times instantly or over a prescribed period will result in same difficulties for the victim.”
Talat Jahan Begum, Lecturer, Dept of Journalism and Mass Communication in Central University of Odisha, is of the views that talaq is a most deplorable and harsh act in the Muslim society. Before advent of Islam, there was no provision of separation between man and woman in any religion or society.
By obtaining a talaq, a Muslim woman gets absolute freedom to live her life as she desires. And the problems are likely to continue to be there even after abolition of the Triple Talaq. The incidence of the Triple Talaq being infinitesimally low, the law now enacted by the Government would have little impact on the Muslim society in general and Muslim women in particular.
Smaranika Panda, a tele counsellor of the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) is happy over the move for abolition of the Triple Talaq and opines, “With the passing of the Bill, I feel we are getting progressive; and gender equality is the call of the day. The respect for the institution of marriage is more pronounced with an emphasis on regard for the female of the species. Today, the times are changing; thus, this step is timely and warranted.”