Triple Talaq Bill 2019
Triple Talaq Bill 2019 (तीन तलाक बिल मुस्लिम महिलाओ के लिए सशक्तिकरण या एक राजनीतिक कदम)
Last Updated On: 14 August 2023
The "Triple Talaq Bill" or the "Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Bill, 2019" was a significant piece of legislation introduced in the Indian Parliament to address the issue of instant triple talaq, also known as talaq-e-bid'ah.
Triple talaq is a practice under Islamic law that allowed a Muslim husband to divorce his wife by pronouncing the word "talaq" (divorce) three times, either in a single sitting or over a period. This form of divorce was considered controversial and had been criticized for leaving many Muslim women vulnerable and without legal protection in case their husbands decided to abruptly end their marriage.
The main highlights of the Triple Talaq Bill 2019 were as follows:
Criminalization of Triple Talaq: The bill sought to make the pronouncement of instant triple talaq a criminal offense. It proposed a prison term of up to three years for Muslim men who gave instant triple talaq to their wives.
Empowering Muslim Women: The bill aimed to provide Muslim women with legal protection and prevent arbitrary divorce by their husbands through the practice of instant triple talaq.
Bail Provision: The bill allowed for bail to be granted to the accused husband upon the discretion of the Magistrate, but only after hearing the victimized wife.
Protection of Maintenance: The bill provided for the payment of subsistence allowance (maintenance) to the victimized Muslim women during the period of her iddat (waiting period) following the pronouncement of triple talaq.
The Triple Talaq Bill was introduced in the Lok Sabha (the lower house of the Indian Parliament) in June 2019. It faced considerable debate and opposition from some political parties, religious groups, and women's rights activists. Critics argued that criminalizing triple talaq could lead to the victimization of Muslim men and could interfere with personal laws based on religion.
However, the bill was eventually passed in both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha (the upper house) in July 2019 and received presidential assent, becoming law. The law aimed to protect the rights of Muslim women and ensure gender equality within the Muslim community in India. It was seen as a significant step towards providing legal recourse to Muslim women against the practice of instant triple talaq and ensuring their social and economic security.