Triple Talaq Bill

The historic Triple Talaq Bill was, at last, passed successfully in Indian Parliament in the fourth attempt. It has sparked joyous vibe among all Indian citizens including the Muslims. This incident proves testimony to the fact that our country is under the process of transformation and it is working in the right direction towards achieving women empowerment.

Triple talaq is a divorce custom followed by a majority of Muslims where the husband issues 3 talaqs upon his wife (in each of her menstrual cycle) ensuring that she is not carrying a baby at the time of separation. Here it is to be mentioned that the triple talaq concept has never been quoted in any of the Islamic literature throughout the world. Several Islamic nations such as Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Afghanistan have already banned this custom long time back and India is the latest to join in this list.

Earlier, several poor Muslim women were abandoned by their husbands by virtue of this particular cruel practice. Since marriage was treated as a social contract as per Islamic law, a provision for undoing or freeing the knot called talaq came into existence. A number of cases had already been filed in the Indian Supreme Court by the victims who claimed that their husbands simply cancelled their marriage by uttering ‘talaq, talaq, talaq’.

The Supreme Court judges comprising of a 5-member panel belonging to different religions held the practice of instant triple talaq as unconstitutional on August 22, 2017. The judges observed that this particular practice violates Articles 14 and 21 of the Indian constitution. The case was taken for hearing as a result of violent opposition and accusations passed by Muslim leaders claiming that it goes against Shariat and the basic tenets of the Quran.

Later on December 17, 2018, the bill was passed with a comfortable majority in Indian Lok Sabha by the Union law minister Ravi Shankar Prasad. It made instant triple talaq illegal and void. It also made this practice as a punishable offence with up to 3 years of imprisonment.

Recently the contentious bill that aims for abolishing of the ‘Instant triple talaq’ custom was successfully passed in the Rajya Sabha on July 30^th 2019 in the second attempt, despite vehement opposition from Indian National Congress, Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and Janata Dal parties.

As a result, the Muslim Women Bill got the approval of our President Ram Nath Kovind on August 1^st 2019 and hence has now become a law. According to it, a victim can file an FIR by herself or through her blood relations using concrete evidence. Bail can be granted to the husband if his wife agrees to it.

Union government claims that this measure has become the need of the day since the practice continued to exist despite the ban imposed on it by the Indian apex judicial body. This action has brought a sigh of relief for the Muslim women and many social activists and feminists claim that it will provide dignity to them and thereby will promote gender equality and gender justice henceforth.