What you need to know:
- #TripleTalaqBill trends social media as users debate the pros and cons of the revised bill.
- Congress and BJP go head-to-head in parliament.
- Opposition against the bill, say it will not help Muslim women.
Dubai: Calling the Triple Talaq Bill passed by the Lok Sabha as "arbitrary, excessive, and violative of fundamental rights", rights activists and organisations on Thursday appealed to Rajya Sabha members to "withdraw the Bill and significantly redraft" it in the interest of Muslim women.
The Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Bill, 2018 which criminalises the practice of triple talaq among Muslims, was passed in the Lower House after rejection of all opposition amendments, and the government turning down demands for referring the bill to a joint select committee for detailed consideration.
In a statement, 40 rights activists and organisations opposed the Bill, calling it arbitrary, excessive, and violative of fundamental rights enshrined in the Indian Constitution.
"Overall, if this Bill is passed it would make Muslim women more vulnerable to violence, as well as harm their economic, household and social security," they said.
Arguing that there was "no rationale to criminalise the practice of talaq-e-biddat", they said that if the Bill was passed, Muslim men will be incarcerated violating their rights of conjugality and would also lead to unwanted separation of the couple, against the wishes of the wife.
"Since Muslim marriage is a civil contract between two adult persons, the procedures to be followed on its breakdown should also be of civil nature. Penal action to discourage the practice of instant triple talaq is a myopic view as it leaves many other issues of economic and social security of women unaddressed," they said.
They also called the Bill which prescribes imprisonment up to three years and makes the offence a cognizable and non-bailable one, as "draconian and disproportionate".
"Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad has said that the practice is still "continuing unabated". He has pegged the number of divorce cases pronounced by way of triple talaq to 400 in 13 months. This data, for a country as large as India, is not enough to draw conclusions and create a criminalising bill. Moreover, the statement seems to be based on popular beliefs or perception rather than corroborated by any material evidence," claimed the activists.
"The move to imprison Muslim men will add to the prevailing insecurity and alienation of the Muslim community. Criminalisation of instant triple talaq will further stifle the voices of Muslim women instead of offering them avenues for justice," they added. (IANS)
What happened today?
The Lok Sabha on Thursday passed the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Bill, 2018 that makes instant triple talaq or talaq-e-biddat a criminal offence, with a jail term of up to three years with a fine.
The bill, which seeks to replace an ordinance promulgated in September prohibiting divorce by pronouncing "talaq" by the husband, was passed after over four-hour discussion that saw some heated exchanges between the opposition and treasury benches.
On Twitter #TripleTalaqBill was a top trend from India, with more than 15 thousand tweets. Many users, including a few celebrities, discussed the practice and shared updates from the session.
According to reports, the debate started at 2pm in the Lok Sabha. Union Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad introduced the revised bill.
Indian boadcast chanel NDTV reported that the bill saught imprisonment for Muslim men accused of instant divorce. Under the revised bill, only a woman, or her close relative, can file a police case against her husband. In another amendment, the case can be dropped if the couple reaches a compromise.
Additionally, a third amendment states that the magistrate can decide on releasing the husband on bail only after hearing the wife.
According to newspaper The Times of India’s report, Prasad said: “Don’t weigh the bill on the scales of politics. The bill is about humanity and justice… Twenty Islamic nations have banned instant triple talaq, then why can’t a secular nation like India?”
The Congress party is against the criminalisation of triple talaq, and argued that it would be a “disservice to Muslim women”.
According to the news magazine India Today, Congress leader Sushmita Dev said criminalisation of triple talaq goes against the Supreme Court’s verdict.
BJP leaders argued that the bill aims at honouring the rights of Muslim women. The Narendra Modi government drafted the bill after the August 2017 Supreme Court verdict “that outlawed the practice”.
Both parties have issued statements to all the Lok Sabha Members of Parliament to be present for the debate.
Azam Khan, Indian politician and founder member of the Samajwadi party said: “For every Muslim in the country, or in the entire world, we only follow the rules written in Quran. No other law is valid for us.”
What people are saying
Twitter users were divided on the issue and while some agreed with the Congress party, others sided with the BJP.
President of the SamajWadi Party in Maharashtra, Abu Asim Azmi posted: “#TripleTalaqbill. Let this be very clear, we Muslims will follow our Holy Quran and Sharia...Freedom of Religion is our Fundamental Right.”
@YourGalNeha posted: “Why is the BJP hell bound on #TripleTalaqBill? If Modi and BJP wants to reform society and empower woman, start from Hindus which have several painful customs like child marriage, Devadasi, Honour Killing, Polyandry etc. So, remove Hindu stigma first!”
Tweep @advmonikaarora posted: “In 1956 Hindu Marriage & Divorce Act was passed. Earlier a Hindu man could have more than one wife. Now only one wife rule was made. Those violating were jailed. Congress never questioned it but passed this bill. Now why oppose jailing those men who give #TripleTalaq #TripleTalaqBill?”
@NeetyGarg6 tweeted: “A Muslim man gives triple talaq to his wife of 19 years, mother to his 11 children on a small fight in Bareilly. Still Opposition parties, led by the Congress, are against criminalising the triple talaq? #TripleTalaqBill”
Indian actress Koena Mirta posted: “Today, National coma day for liberals, fake feminists and placard activists.... Because it’s #TripleTalaqBill’s day. Hope our Honourable Prime Minister will serve justice today @narendramodi #TripleTalaqBill #TripleTalaq.”
The session is still in progress and a conclusion has not been reached in parliament yet.
