Women India Movement held a protest demonstration against the central government’s bill on triple talaq at Parliament Street in the national capital on 4 January. About a hundred women activists from different parts of Delhi participated in the meet. The agitation was led by WIM National Committee Member Shahin Kousar.
Women India Movement national president Yasmin Farouqui said the BJP led government has hurriedly passed the bill in Lok Sabha, demonising the Muslims without going into its demerits. Criminalisation of civil contract of marriage is infringement of rights conferred by the law of the land violating its provisions. The manner in which opposition parties self-claiming to be champions of secularism gave BJP a walk over is highly exceptional. The main opposition party bracketed with the government in passing the law under the influence of majoritarian fear.
Yasmin said the intention of the central government behind this bill is neither to protect the rights of Muslim women in particular nor to safeguard the welfare of Muslim community in general but only to implement its political interests. Women India Movement has strongly condemned the government’s move of tabling such an ill designed bill.
Shahin Kousar, in her address during the protest, said, the Union Government is unnecessarily creating issues in the name of triple-talaq only to polarise the sentiments of communities for the sake of votes. It is miserably trying to create a stereotype of atmosphere that the nation is in distress due to triple talaq.
As the bill has provisions of cognizable non-bailable offence which leads to three years of jail and fine, this will be used as a tool for harassment by the men and women and by the government too. Yasmin Farouqui wonders when the killers, lynching criminals and rioters are getting the bails easily how a law can push the men behind the bars only in a matter of talaq. It is a proven truth that the ratio of divorce in the Muslim community in India is far lower than that in other communities. She said the government is not concerned about of welfare of entire womenfolk of our country as they regardless of religion and region are the victims of desertion and destitution. WIM strongly asserted that all the steps would be taken to stop the injuries intended to be caused by the vices of the bill.