The ordinance on triple talaq, publicised by the central government which has a provision of three-year jail term for husbands seeking it, evoked mixed reactions from Muslim community. However majority of them, including women are averse to the jail term. This provision has been inviting criticism for the BJP; the government has been getting more brickbats than bouquets.
According to Maulana Khalid Rashid Firangi Mehli, a member of Muslim Personal Law Board, to make triple talaq a criminal offence and clubbing it with the provision of arrest is against the fundamental principles of democracy. The government has passed this ordinance by ignoring the objections of the Muslim community including women.
The head of All India Women Personal Law Board, Shaista Amber said that the government by bringing ordinance on triple talaq, has made it an criminal offence. This has killed the chances of compromise between the husband and wife. Shaista Amber had earlier said that the Muslim Marriage Act should be on the lines of the Hindu Marriage Act.
Talaq is, no doubt a social evil, but if it is made a criminal offence, people will get scared to marry. According to Naish Hasan, general secretary of Muslim Women League, to make a law to curb this social evil is good, but the stipulated jail term in it should be reduced. If the husband is jailed then what will happen to his wife and children. The government should look into loopholes of this ordinance and should take them into account. Moreover, the government should focus more on finding a solution for financial problems of the aggrieved women, she added.
The ordinance promulgated by the central government late last night has a provision that if the husband goes for triple talaq he can be jailed for three years. Most of the members of Muslim community are opposing this provision.
Darul Uloom, at Deoband, Uttar Pradesh, a renowned Islamic school in India too, has assailed this and has described it as an interference in religious matters. However, there are a few who have hailed the government's decision. Syed Wasim Rizvi, head of Shia Central Waqf Board said that this ordinance is a victory for Muslim women and a defeat to conservative Muslim leaders. According to official figures 430 cases of triple talaq have come to light so far between January 2017 to September 13, 2018 and most of such cases are from Uttar Pradesh.
