All India Democratic Women Association, a pan India organisation representing 11 women bodies and several eminent individuals, has strongly registered its anguish on the way the Government is trying to push the Triple Talaq Bill in the Parliament in utter haste.
A delegation comprising Mrs. P.K Sreemathi (M.P. from Kannur), Sudha Sundararaman and S. Punyavathi (VPs), Tapasi Praharaj (National Secretary), Maimoona Mollah (President, Delhi JMS) and Asha Sharma (Gen Sec, Delhi JMS) met the Law Minister Mr. Ravi Shankar Prasad, on Thursday, Feb 8th, and apprised him of the flaws in the bill.
The memorandum letter warned, “Any move to push through the Bill (in the present form) will not only be undemocratic but will be doing injustice to those whom the Government claims will benefit from it.” They urged the government to refer the bill to the Select Committee for proper consultation and scrutiny.
The women representatives said, “We wish to lodge our strong protest about the manner in which the government is seeking to push through the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Act, 2017 in the Parliament.”
Expressing their “extreme surprise” on the hasty manner the bill was drafted with, without consulting concerned Muslims or other groups or individuals and the women organisations. They pointed out, “The Bill is flawed for a number of reasons including the fact that it criminalises Triple Talaq.” And that, “there was no urgency in bringing forth such a Bill as the Supreme Court, by a majority, had already held the practice of Triple Talaq invalid.” Contradicting the government’s plea for haste, the women representation pointed out, “It was wrong for the government to cite the minority judgment, which is not binding, to bring forth the legislation.”
They said, “The bill prescribes a punishment of up to three years imprisonment for the pronouncement of Triple Talaq and makes the crime cognizable and non-bailable. We feel that turning a civil wrong into a criminal offence is unjustified and legally flawed. In any case, this draconian clause is totally unnecessary and the punishment is disproportionate to the crime alleged to have been committed.”
The letter pointed out, “If along with the pronouncement of Triple Talaq, the wife has been subjected to any mental and physical cruelty or violence, she can approach the police under Section 498A of the IPC. Ironically, this provision is being sought to be diluted in various ways with implicit and explicit government support.” They said, “We strongly feel that Section 498A needs strengthening and better implementation.”
The memorandum pointed out that “by making the offence cognizable and non-bailable, the government wants to permit anyone to file an FIR and hasn’t restricted this to the woman concerned or even her relatives. This means that anyone from the public can use the section, allege that the crime has been committed, and the police can arrest the man even if the wife does not want to take action.”
It was also pointed out, “The offences of ‘bigamy’ and ‘adultery’ are both non-cognizable and bailable, even though bigamy is punishable with imprisonment for 7 years and adultery is punishable with imprisonment up to 5 years. Further, for the offence of bigamy punishable under Section 494 of IPC, only the first wife can lodge a complaint.” And that “this section of the bill will be counterproductive and will further aggravate the economic condition of the wife and children who will not be able to ask for a suitable maintenance if the husband is in jail and unable to work and earn.” And that it is also counterproductive as, “the opportunity for reconciliation will be lost if an FIR is registered and the husband is placed under arrest.”
The letter further said, “The section allowing the wife to approach the magistrate’s court for a subsistence allowance is also flawed.” The representation asked, “Why should the wife and children be only allowed to ask for a subsistence allowance while the law of maintenance for women and children in the country clearly lays down that women and children should be given maintenance which will allow them to live in the same lifestyle that they were living in the marital home or ‘shared household’?”
Making some suggestions for legal provisions safeguarding the rights of Muslim women according to the Qur’ānic teachings, as in several Muslim countries, the letter concluded, “We reiterate that the present bill is ill-conceived and flawed and must be referred to the Standing Committee so that all those affected by the Bill can have an opportunity to argue their case.”
A brief press release of AIDWA said, “The Law Minister gave a patient hearing to the views expressed by the delegation and also explained the government’s standpoint. He assured that the government would examine the questions raised in the memorandum seriously.”