A small beginning for the rights of Muslim women was made in the famous Shah Bano case – wherein the Supreme Court (in 1985?) passed a judgement for the right to maintenance to Muslim divorced women. Shah Bano, who had been divorced several years earlier, had filed a criminal case against her husband and was granted alimony - of a princely sum of Rs. 300 p.m. if I remember right. However Muslim politicians started a campaign against this and, in an obvious Muslim appeasement attempt, the Rajiv Gandhi Government diluted the ruling and held that a divorced Muslim women was entitled to alimony for the next 90 days only (period of Iddah – three menstrual cycles for confirmation of no pregnancy).
In India, unlike several Islamic countries, triple talaq was legal. This was held illegal by the Supreme Court in 2017 but the practice still continued – the farce going to the extent of the word talaq being pronounced thrice in a single telephonic conversation, a Skype chat, a text message or even on WhatsApp – and the husband might even be away somewhere abroad and the poor wife in India. This triple talaq is irrevocable and remarriage first requires marriage and its consummation with another man. To see the inhumanity of the practice, an old excellent movie is “Nikaah” with Salma Agha and Deepak Parashar.
In the middle of 2019, the present Govt passed a law for the protection of the rights of Muslim women wherein triple talq has been made a criminal offence punishable with a jail term of three years. There is also a provision of subsistence allowance to the woman and dependent children as well as custody of children. While this law too has been protested by several Muslim groups, the government has not given in. It also explains why Narendra Modi is quietly getting Muslim votes too, especially of women.
Previous governments of our country took care of the Muslim clergy but did not care for the common Muslims. The present Govt, in implementing various welfare measures, is not discriminating between the religions of the poor. This has further annoyed the opposition parties and the leaders of various factions, the present Government has been bad-mouthed by the powers that be, as being anti-Muslim.
And Triple talaq has been illegal in Pakistan since 1961 !!!!
Incidentally, every American citizen has to follow American laws. There is no place for triple talaq in USA. Even for divorce, alimony and custody of children, the same American laws apply, irrespective of your religion or nationality.
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3 comments:
From my friend PS: These issues are taken up only to win elections as Nehru said to Ambedkar the political compulsion are necessary in order to stay in power so reservations are must that is why Ambedkar insisted on the word temporary for reservation and we have seen that the number of sc category has increased rather then decrease. A vote bank is an assurance for winning the elections. People want everything without spending. Social awareness and committed leaders are needed to bring social chage and economic parity.
From AK: The vote bank politics of the Congress and other so called secular parties practiced appeasement of the minorities which resulted in such practices to continue.
A good step taken by Modi.
From AM: Indian muslims always wanted (and were provided/ got) best of both the countries. 😛
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