NEW DELHI: Maulana Mufti Abul Qasim Nomani, vice-chancellor, (mohtamin) of Darul Uloom Deoband strongly reacted to the bill criminalising the triple talaq practice, stating that the law which says about justice and respect and for women is against the welfare of Muslim women.
Speaking to Economic Times, Nomani said, “It is not a matter of single or triple talaq. If the bill is passed then in the eyes of the law, the divorce stands void. But the society will see them as divorced. Under the law, the man will be sent to jail. If that happens, who will take care of the woman and children — the court or the government? While the man will suffer in jail, the fate of the woman and their children will hang in the balance,” Nomani told ET.
Zakia Soman, one of the founding members of Bharatiya Muslim Mahila Andolan who championed instant triple talaq or talaq-e-biddat welcomed the passage of the bill adding that the absence of a law against the practice of instant triple talaq was “a huge lacuna”.
Soman, said it needs key changes.
The women’s rights activist however, said the procedure should be based on the talaq-e-ahsan method which advocates reconciliation efforts, a process spread over 90 days and provision for maintenance.
She added that if the bill lays down the procedure of giving talaq and makes talaq-e-biddat non- cognisable it will be a good move.
“Since divorce is a civil matter, the offence must be made non-cognisable. Even if the man is being sent to jail, one must remember what is the basic purpose of the law: it is gender justice for women and not harassing men,” reported ET.
Calling it a “historic day”, the BJP government at the Centre on Thursday proposed a bill making instant “Triple Talaq” prevailing among Muslims a criminal offence.
The bill, if implemented into a law, will make Triple Talaq a criminal offense According to the proposed law, giving instant talaq would attract a jail term of three years and a fine for a Muslim husband who divorces his wife in any form of spoken, written or by electronic means such as email, SMS, and WhatsApp. It would be a non-bailable offence.
Agencies inputs