The clearance of Triple Talaq bill is an incredible victory in the reign of Narendra Modi. The Rajya Sabha passed the bill last week with 99 to 84 votes and has made the triple Talaq a crime with three years in Jail.
Criminalizing the Triple Talaq is the biggest news of the era as it took several years and number of debates to reach this decision. Despite NDA’s opposition, Modi government managed to bring the Triple Talaq bill into the practice. This controversial Muslim Women (Protection of rights on marriage) bill, is now just waiting for the signature of Mr. President, Ram Nath Kovind and once he will sign the bill, the criminalization of Triple Talaq will become a law for the nation by replacing the 1986 Act.
When the bill was passed in Rajya Sabha, Prime Minister Modi tweeted “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 encourage equality in society. India rejoices today!”
The bill has much more significance just than the criminalization of Triple Talaq. It is a revolutionary move in providing equality to the Muslim ladies by offering them a resource to attain the protection from Triple Talaq or Talaq-e-Biddat.
This brave step was taken by the law minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, according to him “This is a matter of gender justice, dignity and equality.” We all agree with this as the oral practice of divorce was so unfeminine that the Muslim women used to live in fear and insecurity throughout their lives. Invalidating the concept of Triple Talaq has brought a wave of joy and relief in the Muslim community. Not only women but many men are supporting this as it has done a great favor to the women of their religion.
Reaching to this point was not easy for the present government, as the bill took complete two years to get Lok Sabha approval and then it waited for the accent of Rajya Sabha. The opposition NDA and Modi government were at odds on this bill since 2017 and finally, the bill has passed by Supreme Court.
The numbers during voting:
“ JD(U), AIADMK walked out; TRS, TDP, Satish Mishra of BSP, Sharad Pawar and Praful Patel of NCP and Jharna Das Baidya of CPI(M) were absent; 40 Congress MPs were present.”
The walkout by JD(U) and AIADMK members gave the government a huge advantage in numbers and getting the bill passed.
The triple Talaq was declared null and void as well as unconstitutional by Supreme Court back in August 2017.
The newly passed bill states the straight three years of jail to the man who utters triple talaq and tries to end the marriage. Also triple talaq (talaq-e-biddat) in any form such as spoken, in writing or by electronic means such as email, SMS and WhatsApp is considered to be illegal and void, and it will lead the man behind the bars for three years. This new law is a great milestone for empowering women and creating a more secure, developed and contemporary India.
