After “Triple Talaq”, demand to ban “polygamy” raised

New Delhi: A day after the LokSabha passed the bill to ban instant triple talaq,demands are raised to ban polygamy.

The women those who approachedthe Supreme Courtagainst the practice, said with the passing of the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Bill in the lower House, “a new beginning has been made”.

They said the new law should have also banned the practice of polygamy among Muslim men which, they said, was “more worse than triple talaq.”

The women, advocate Farah Faiz, Rizwana, Razia, who were associated in the fight against triple talaq and polygamy in the apex court, expressed satisfaction that at least “a start” has been made by the present NDA dispensation.

The same opportunity had come in 1985 when the Shah Bano case happened, but was lost by the then Central government, they claimed.

“A new beginning has been made which would protect Muslim women from immoral practice of nikahhalala,” said Faiz, whose view was shared by Rizwana and Razia with a slight variance.

Rizwana and Razia were of the view that the government should have dealt with the issue of polygamy by banning it in the same bill.

“I welcome the move but now men will take undue advantage of the law and indulge in polygamy openly as it is still in practice. With polygamy still in practice, abolition of triple talaq cannot alone not help us,” said 33-year-old Rizwana.

Razia said, “I wish that the practice of polygamy is also banned.”

Advocate Chandra Rajan who had represented All India Muslim Women Personal Law Board (AIMWPLB) also hailed bringing of the legislation and said it would go a long way in history.
“If this new law is implemented in true spirit then it will go a long way and prove to be a deterrent for the husbands from saying talaq-e-biddat to their wives,” she said.

Rajan said the AIMWPLB has, from the very beginning, demanded that there should be a law which should hold the practice of instant triple talaq null and void and impose punishment on husbands practicing it.

“The best thing the law proposes is that custody of minor child will be given to the mother. This happened with Shah Bano who was the victim of triple talaq and one of the petitioners in the Supreme Court,” Rajan said.

She, however, questioned the mention of All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) in the law and said that it is an NGO and by mentioning their name it is like giving them a sanctity.

Faiz also shared the view of Rizwana and Razia that the government could have also brought a law making the unethical practice of polygamy null and void.

Rizwana, a Railway employee who had approached the apex court for abolishing the practice of polygamy, said, “With polygamy still in practice, abolition of triple talaq cannot alone help us.”

With inputs from PTI