The abolishing of triple talaq is welcome. But the need is to address broader issues like employment and education for Muslim women
Should we smell politics behind the Triple Talaq Bill which the Modi Government is so keen to push through in the ensuing Monsoon SessionIJ Will it be passed or sent to the select committee for further scrutiny or will it be buriedIJ The lok Sabha successfully passed the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Bill last December by voice vote where the BJP has a majority. However, it has been an uphill task for the party to get it through the Rajya Sabha as the NDA does not have the numbers in the Upper House. While the measure was allowed to sail through the lok Sabha, the Congress-led Opposition now wants the Bill to be sent to a select committee. The Government obviously fears that if it goes to the select panel, it will undergo changes. But one thing is sure: There is an absence of a reach-out in building a consensus.
The Triple Talaq Bill is a part of the BJP’s political gambit ahead of the 2019 General Election. If the Bill were to be passed, the Government would tom-tom its success. If the Opposition blocks it, the Government would malign the opposition parties as pseudo-secular and real enemies of Muslim women. Either way, it is a win-win situation for the BJP. The Congress does not want to be seen as playing a repressive role it had played three decades ago in the Shah Bano case. Also, the Opposition cannot go beyond a certain limit as it is a social reform Bill which is why even while stalling the Bill, it played a lip service for the need to end the practice of triple talaq.
The demand to send the Bill to the select committee has the support of parties like the Congress, the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, Biju Janata Dal and the Telangana Rashtra Samithi. Even a few NDA allies like the Shiv Sena stand opposed to it. The Telugu Desam Party, which quit the alliance with the NDA in March, too has joined the Shiv Sena. The left, the Trinamool Congress, Samajwadi Party (SP) and the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) are also opposed to it in its present form.
The proposed Bill aims to outlaw the practice of Talaq-e-biddat, making it a cognizable and non-bailable offense with a three-year jail-term for erring Muslim husbands. Many political parties have pointed out the flaws in the Bill. They have argued that some provisions of the Bill can be easily misused. While the Congress, SP, BSP, left parties, Rashtriya Janata Dal among others argue that this is a religious issue and should not be tinkered with, the Modi Government came out with an unambiguous position in public and in the Supreme Court. The argument in favour of the Bill was that making triple talaq an invalid practice under the civil code had not really worked even after the Supreme Court rendered the practice as void in August 2017 and asked the Government to frame a law on it. It was only after the apex court’s order that the Government came up with this Bill.
Why should the BJP bat for the Muslim womenIJ Why should secular parties like the Congress and the SP stand opposed to itIJ This is all vote-bank politics. Every political party wants the votes of the Muslims. Even the BJP is looking for these plus votes it might need in the 2019 General Election. Indeed, Muslims have a decisive presence in 90 districts, 100 lok Sabha constituencies and 720 Assembly seats all across the country. Traditionally, Muslims have voted against the BJP and voted for secular parties. In the Modi regime, they experienced several incidents of communal violence, cow vigilantism, and persecution in the garb of love jihad that created fear within the community. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had pitchforked on the issue and used it during the 2017 Uttar Pradesh Assembly election and had declared that he and his party are in favour of the abolition of the triple talaq. The BJP claimed that this promise got them some Muslim votes. He is also trying to get the backward Muslims on board.
Significantly, in his recent Azamgarh rally, Modi said, “I want to ask if the Congress is a party only for Muslim men or for women tooIJ Is there a place of respect and dignity for Muslim womenIJ They stop the Triple Talaq law, create a ruckus and don’t allow the Parliament to function.” Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s attack on the Congress is understandable. In the run-up to the 2019 election, the BJP wants to isolate the Congress. Even Congress chief Rahul Gandhi’s meet with some Muslim intellectuals recently was portrayed as Muslim appeasement. At the same time, the Congress has not been able to counter the BJP; although it tried to adopt a soft Hindutva stand in Gujarat and Karnataka Assembly campaigns.
Unfortunately, triple talaq is not the only problem faced by the Muslim women. The real problem is of education and employment and overall empowerment. Both Prime Minister Modi and the Opposition should think of measures to empower Muslim women. According to Census 2011, at 52 per cent, Muslim women are the least educated amongst the women in India. Only a few reach the graduation level (2.75 per cent). Vote-bank politics and making it a gender issue alone will not help the Muslim women. Much more needs to be done. Triple talaq is just the beginning.
(The writer is a senior political commentator and syndicated columnist)
