The Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Bill, 2017(Triple talaq bill)

The Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Bill, 2017(Triple talaq bill)

Background

• The Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Bill, 2017, which seeks to make triple talaq a criminal offence punishable with three years in jail and a fine, has been passed by the Lok Sabha and now requires the Rajya Sabha’s approval.
• In August, the Supreme Court had declared triple talaq, the practice by which Muslim men divorce their wives by saying the word talaq three times in one sitting unconstitutional.

Objectives of the bill

• This legislation bill is expected to help in ensuring the larger Constitutional goals of gender justice and gender equality of married Muslim women and help subserve their fundamental rights of non-discrimination and empowerment.

Key points of the bill

• The Bill makes all declaration of talaq, including in written or electronic form, to be void (i.e. not enforceable in law) and illegal.
• It defines talaq as talaq-e-biddat or any other similar form of talaq pronounced by a Muslim man resulting in instant and irrevocable divorce.
• Talaq-e-biddat refers to the practice under Muslim personal laws where pronouncement of the word ‘talaq’ thrice in one sitting by a Muslim man to his wife results in an instant and irrevocable divorce.
• The Bill makes declaration of talaq a cognizable and non-bailable offence. A husband declaring talaq can be imprisoned for up to three years along with a fine. . (A cognizable offence is one for which a police officer may arrest an accused person without warrant.)
• A Muslim woman against whom talaq has been declared, is entitled to seek subsistence allowance from her husband for herself and for her dependent children. The amount of the allowance will be decided by a First Class Magistrate.
• A Muslim woman against whom such talaq has been declared, is entitled to seek custody of her minor children. The determination of custody will be made by the Magistrate.

Controversy and debates surrounding the proposed bill

Some civil society organizations have raised questions over the provisions of the bill, saying an amendment to the current legislation would have sufficed. They have also demanded that the bill be referred to a Parliamentary Standing Committee so recommendations are added to the proposed law.

Some key terms

Triple talaq

• Triple talaq is a practice by which Muslim men divorce their wives by uttering ‘talaq’ thrice, over a period of three months.

Talaq-e-bidat

• In this practice Muslim men utter ‘talaq’ thrice instantly, sometimes via a written talaqnama, or even by phone or text message while not adhering to the three-month iddat period, which is meant for reconciliation and arbitration.

MCQ

Which of the following statements is incorrect ?

1. The Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Bill, 2017, seeks to make triple talaq a criminal offence.
2. The muslim women (protection of rights on marriage) bill 2017 was first presented in rajya sabha.
3. In talaq-e-bidat practice Muslim men utter ‘talaq’ thrice instantly.
4. The Bill makes declaration of talaq a cognizable and non-bailable offence.

Answer. B

Mains question

Q. In what way The Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Bill, 2017 is important for muslim women empowerment ? Critically evaluate the controversy associated with the bill.

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