AIMIM leader Asaduddin Owaisi at the Azam Campus ground, in Pune on Saturday. (Express)
The triple talaq Bill is an “injustice” to Muslim women and they should stand up against it, All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen leader and Lok Sabha MP Asaduddin Owaisi said in Pune on Saturday. Owaisi, who was in Pune to attend the Tahffuje Shariyat Conference, addressed a huge gathering at the Azam Campus ground. Earlier in the day, hundreds of Muslim women had participated in a rally against the triple talaq Bill, called by the All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) and the Kuljamati Tanzim Sanghatna, Pune.
They held boards with slogans that stated ‘We abide by Shariyat only’, ‘We reject triple talaq Bill’, ‘Hukumat badal sakti hain, Shariat nahi’ (The government may change, but Shariat won’t). The rally started from Jama Masjid on Mahatma Gandhi Road in Pune Camp area around 5 pm. The Bill was passed by the Lok Sabha in December and is pending before the Rajya Sabha.
During his speech later in the evening, Owaisi said it was the “beauty of India” that people from different faiths lived here together and the Constitution allowed everyone to follow their faiths. While the BJP-led government at the Centre “claimed to care about the rights of Muslim women, it had come up with the triple talaq Bill, which is an injustice against Muslim women,” he said.
The All India Muslim Personal Law Board and city organisations held a rally to protest the triple talaq Bill. The rally started from Jama Masjid on Mahatma Gandhi Road in Pune Camp area on Saturday evening. Sandeep Daundkar
The AIMPLB has appealed to all Muslim men, urging them not to give triple talaq, said Owaisi. “I appeal to Muslims in Pune… if a man gives triple talaq and harasses his wife, the community should boycott him. But nobody is talking about the real problems faced by women in the country. The figures of rape, dowry deaths and violence against women in India are shocking. The intention of the government behind the triple talaq Bill is not right. It is an attempt to do away with the Shariat,” he said.
The Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Bill 2017 makes instant triple talaq, or ‘talaq-e-biddat’, a criminal offence with a jail term of up to three years.
Shayara Bano, a 35-year-old resident of Kashipur in Uttarakhand, had moved the Supreme Court last year, seeking a ban on instant triple talaq. On August 22, 2017, the Supreme Court had passed an order in her favour, putting a ban on instant triple talaq for six months. The apex court had also asked Parliament to introduce a new law on triple talaq in six months.
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