‘Introducing a law won’t eradicate social evil’: Owaisi opposes triple talaq bill in LS

Under the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Bill, 2019, divorcing through instant triple talaq will be illegal, void and would attract a jail term of three years for the husband.

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Citing violation of Article 26, the lawmaker said women should have the right to leave the marriage. “Will the husband give maintenance from jail?” he asked. “Why should the woman remain married to the husband who’s in jail? The bill gives three-year jail term to husband, it is against the criminal jurisprudence. You put a condition that if a husband gives woman a divorce, then the amount of meher will go to the woman. Marriage is a contract. This is not a “janam janam ka saath hai”. This life is enough. Muslims are not homogenous in India,” added Owaisi.

Earlier today, the Lok Sabha took up for consideration the contentious bill to make the practice of instant triple talaq illegal with up to three years in jail for the husband. Moving the bill for consideration, Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said the legislation was a must for gender equality and justice as despite an August 2017 Supreme Court verdict striking down the practice of instant triple talaq, women are being divorced by ‘talaq-e-biddat’.

He said, since January 2017, as many as 574 triple talaq cases and since the Supreme Court order, more than 300 such cases were reported by the media. “Under these circumstances, what should we do? Should we allow Muslim women to be continued to be exploited,” he said.