Mehbooba Mufti Isn’t Happy With The Passing Of The Triple Talaaq Bill. What’s Her Problem? We Think It’s Great!
Marriage they say, is a holy matrimony of two people who swear to be by each other’s side in sickness and in health. And as cliche or cheesy it may sound, that is indeed the essence of a marriage. Except for times when it doesn’t work out and people mutually decide to part their ways. The word mutual here is the operative word. This was a power, the power of marriage being a mutual contract was largely kept from Muslim women, the scales tipped in favour of men due to triple talaaq.
Triple talaaq in Islam gave the men the power to divorce their wives at their whim for whatever reason they seemed fit, without having it to be consensual. A loophole in marriage system, this had recently become a bone of contention with Muslim men misusing it to simply escape or get rid of their wives. This often happened at the cost of innocent women’s lives- they were left without any course of action. What is further shocking is there have been hundreds of reported cases of men divorcing their wives for unreasonable reasons sometimes even over Whatsapp by uttering talaaq three times.
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The bill sailed through the Upper House and surprisingly won on the floor riding on the back of an undivided opposition. It’s official, the act of triple talaaq is now criminal. The bill further makes the declaration of triple talaaq a criminal offence, attracting up to three years of imprisonment with a fine. This also insinuates that the police can arrest an accused without a warrant. Several politicians also took to twitter to voice their support for the bill, including Prime Minister Modi.
An archaic and medieval practice has finally been confined to the dustbin of history!
Parliament abolishes Triple Talaq and corrects a historical wrong done to Muslim women. This is a victory of gender justice and will further equality in society.
India rejoices today!
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) July 30, 2019
Today is a great day for India’s democracy.
I congratulate PM @narendramodi ji for fulfilling his commitment and ensuring a law to ban Triple Talaq, which will free Muslim women from the curse of this regressive practice.
I thank all parties who supported this historic bill.
— Amit Shah (@AmitShah) July 30, 2019
A historic day when the Rajya Sabha passed the #TripleTalaq Bill, earlier passed by Lok Sabha.
Govt of PM @narendramodi has fulfilled its commitment by giving justice to Muslim women.
No more Talaq-Talaq-Talaq!https://t.co/KwNL7OhbJP— Ravi Shankar Prasad (@rsprasad) July 30, 2019
Muslim women who have been fighting for such this change for years, have finally heaved a sigh of relief with the success of this passing of the bill by a 99-84 vote majority. And honestly, this is not just heartening but also empowering to hear. This bill fights against the gender injustice and promotes gender equality, giving back the Muslim women the power they had been stripped off for so long. Women, who earlier came undone at the mere utterance of the word talaaq, having their lives turned upside down, will now have the right to exercise free will and consent.
Fail to understand the need to pass the triple talaq bill especially since the Supreme Court had already declared it illegal. Undue interference seemingly to punish Muslims. Given the current state of the economy, should this really have been a priority?
— Mehbooba Mufti (@MehboobaMufti) July 30, 2019
And while many like Mehbooba Mufti stand opposed to the criminalisation of the bill, we believe that this was much needed to arm the women and give them security in a marriage. This bill was indeed another milestone in the war against such archaic laws that oppress women and don’t allow them to flourish.
