Triple Talaq Bill clears Rajya Sabha hurdle in big win for Muslim women
This Bill criminalises the practice of instant divorce by Muslim men and seeks jail term for the guilty and proposes to protect the rights of married Muslim women and to prohibit divorce by pronouncing talaq by their husbands.
In a massive victory for the Muslim women across the nation, the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage), Bill, 2019, popularly called Triple Talaq Bill, was passed in the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday. It was passed with a total of 99 votes and 84 votes went against it
This Bill criminalises the practice of instant divorce by Muslim men and seeks jail term for the guilty and proposes to protect the rights of married Muslim women and to prohibit divorce by pronouncing talaq by their husbands.
It will be signed by President Ram Nath Kovind to make it an Act, in the next step. The Bill was passed in the House in the third attempt as it was twice sent back from Rajya Sabha
After the Bill was passed, Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad called it a historic day. “Today is a historic day. Both the Houses have given justice to Muslim women. This is the beginning of a transforming India,” said a smiling Prasad.
The Bill was introduced in the Rajya Sabha by Prasad saying that it should not be seen from the political prism or as vote bank politics. “It’s an issue related to humanity…it is related to the dignity of the women…It is an issue of gender justice and equality,” Prasad said while introducing the Bill.
Opposition parties termed the Bill as “unconstitutional” and stressed that the Bill needs to be referred to a Select Committee of Parliament for further scrutiny. Participating in the debate on the Triple Talaq Bill in the Rajya Sabha, Congress, Trinamool Congress, Samajwadi Party (SP), Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and the Left parties opposed the Bill. The NDA constituents — AIADMK and Janata Dal-United — also opposed the Bill and staged a walkout.
Source : Zee News India