Given Triple Talaq, These Women Battled Against All Odds To Get The Bill Passed In Parliament

The Upper House of Parliament, Rajya Sabha passed the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Bill, 2019 also known as the Triple Talaq Bill, which aims to criminalize the practice of instant triple talaq.

Lok Sabha had passed the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Bill last week and with Rajya Sabha now approving it, the practice of instant divorce by Muslim men will be punishable by a jail term of up to three years.

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Once granted assent by the President, the bill will replace an ordinance promulgated last on February 21 to the same effect as the bill.

Speaking in the Rajya Sabha, Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said the bill was not being brought due to the Supreme Court ruling of 2017 declaring talaq-e-bidat, commonly referred to as instant triple talaq, unconstitutional.

PM Narendra Modi said this is a victory of gender justice and will further equality in society, as he thanked all parties and MPs who supported its passage.

"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 equality in society. India rejoices today!" he said.

Welcoming the passing of the bill, Shayara Bano, one of the complainants in Supreme Court said the passage of the Bill by Parliament will empower Muslim women and galvanize them to take action against the practice.

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¡°The Supreme Court verdict was a big victory for the larger cause but still cases were happening. Now that the law will be in place it will surely instill fear in husbands,¡± she said.

Bano was given triple talaq by her husband after 15 years of marriage.

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¡°We have been pitted against our own religion. At least the new law has legitimized our struggle,¡± Nida Khan another petitioner said. Khan was given triple talaq by her husband in 2015, just one year after their marriage.

¡°It has paved the way for reform in the Muslim Personal Law and given equal status to Muslim women,¡± said Noorjehan Safia Niaz of Bhartiya Muslim Mahila Andolan, an NGO which had been fighting against the practice.