Protesting the proposed criminalisation of instant triple talaq in the Centre’s Bill on the issue, various women’s groups have asked the government to hold wider consultations before passing the legislation, as it affects the very women whom it proposes to protect. A statement by Bebaak Collective, an intervener in support of the triple talaq plea by Shayara Bano, states that it is opposed to making violation of civil contract of marriage a criminal act. The organisation says this would render a woman more vulnerable, as with her husband in jail, she will be deprived of both financial security and of her right to stay at her matrimonial home. The statement has been endorsed by more than a dozen women’s rights outfits, including Jagori and LABIA (A Queer Feminist Collective), as also over a hundred academics and activists such as Nivedita Menon, Ayesha Kidwai, Teesta Setalvad and Mary E John. The government is expected to table the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Bill in the ongoing session of Parliament. The Bill proposes a three-year jail term for a Muslim man who divorces his wife through talaq-e-biddat (instant triple talaq). Hasina Khan, from Bebaak Collective, said criminalising talaq-e-biddat does not address the issue of unilateral talaq, which men can still pronounce over a period of three months under the personal law. “Instead of bringing in a new legislation that merely criminalises instant talaq, the government should amend the existing Dissolution of Muslim Marriages Act, 1939. The Act requires women to approach the court for divorce. It should be made gender-neutral so that even men have to approach the court for a divorce.” On Tuesday, Bebaak Collective approached MPs from Opposition parties with letters stating that since instant triple talaq has been declared invalid by Supreme Court, the marriage is not dissolved and hence criminalisation would “violate the rights of conjugality”. It says, “The move to imprison Muslim men will add to the prevailing insecurity and alienation of the Muslim community.” The letter states that an aggrieved woman could use existing legal provisions. In a separate statement, All India Democratic Women's Association demanded that the Bill be referred to a Parliament Standing Committee.
