Recently, the Union Cabinet approved an ordinance which made instant Triple Talaq a punishable offence in the country. The government had taken this route to provide similar provisions to the Muslim women as were guaranteed under The Muslim Women Protection of Rights in Marriage Act, which was cleared by the Lok Sabha in 2017. The Bill underwent a tough resistance in the Rajya Sabha where the BJP led central government does not enjoy the majority. Leaders from the opposition parties argued for the Bill to be sent to select committee for a closer scrutiny. The various state governments had however supported the centre’s stand on the issue at hand when the centre had sought their opinions.
The government’s move to end this outdated practice which affects a large number of women from the Muslim community had been highly appreciated by the women from the folds of Islam. The threat of a sudden, oral and out of court divorce which could arise out of the blue to dent their lives forever was too much for the almost 90 million Muslim women of India. The practice which is unequal in nature clearly gave extra and unfair rights to the men of the Muslim community and therefore made the women live their lives in fear.
After all the progressive steps taken by BJP for Muslim women comes another decision wherein the government will appoint around 100 Muslim women as ‘teen talaq pramukhs’ across Uttar Pradesh.
The step comes with the idea to make Muslim women understand their rights under constitutional provisions and make them aware about the menace of triple talaq. With the appointment of these pramukhs, their primary task will be to ensure rehabilitation of the victims and their children. The party is also trying to schedule a survey in the month of December to chalk out the number of Triple Talaq victims in Uttar Pradesh.
Minority morcha secretary of Uttar Pradesh Bharatiya Janata Party, Nazia Alam will be heading this wing. She said that triple talaq pramukhs will be appointed for each of the 93 ‘organisational districts’ and six regional units of the BJP.
Educated women who have sound knowledge of Shariat and law and who can bring a social change in the lives of the victims of triple talaq will be appointed as pramukhs. Alam said, “Each of these 93 organisational districts and six regional units will have a triple talaq pramukh and some of the victims are already working with us”.
With these positive steps taken by the government it is surely going to help Muslim women come out of the bondages that they are subjected to in their household. It was actually the need of the hour to help these women out who were succumbed to the menace of triple talaq. The time has come wherein it is necessary for these women to understand their role in the society and exercise their rights as a citizen of the country/
Furthermore, with these pramukhs coming in action, empowerment of these women are bound to happen and with learned women taking the charge we’re assured that there will be an overhauling in the lives of the ones who had to undergo the menace of triple talaq.
