Several organizations and activists, including Bebaak Collective and United Against Hate, have released a statement condemning the government’s attempts to “criminalize Muslim men in the guise of protecting Muslim women” through the Triple Talaq Bill which was passed on Tuesday in the Rajya Sabha.
Read the full statement:
We the undersigned groups and individuals condemn the government’s attempt to criminalize Muslim men in the guise of protecting Muslim women. We stand today in strong opposition to the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights of Marriage) Bill, 2019 which has been pushed through the Rajya Sabha in great haste by this government. Why was it not sent to a select committee? We shall petition the Honorable President to not sign it into law.
At a time when all right-thinking Indians are alarmed at the daily barbaric acts of the lynching of Muslims and the impunity to the perpetrators being provided by the government, this bill is a complete charade. You cannot pretend to save Muslim women while seeking to bring the Muslim community to its knees.
After the Supreme Court in 2017 already made the pronouncement of talaq in a single setting void in law, it is an absurdity to make a person uttering it criminally liable, facing 3 years of imprisonment. Does this bill really care about Muslim women’s access to justice? Imprisoning the husband for three years, leaves the aggrieved complainant at the mercy of her matrimonial family, liable to turn hostile and vengeful towards the wife for putting him behind the bars. Her financial security and that of her children is of no concern in this bill.
Personal laws of all community are civil matters, not criminal matters. This is the first time in the history of India, that we are witnessing criminal provisions in matters of marriage and divorce. In its intent and target, it is clear that this is not a pro-woman but an anti-minority bill.
We further condemn the utterly ineffective floor management of the opposition parties. The time opposition leaders have spent in making passionate speeches against this bill would have been better spent in reaching out to all parties and ensuring their presence for this vote. This is not the kind of opposition that many Indians voted for, and we deserve and demand better. We urge the opposition to stand up to its constitutional duty and protect Indian democracy that is being eroded by the day, with the number of anti-people legislation that is being passed by the government.
Below are the groups and individuals who have signed the statement:
Bebaak Collective
United Against Hate
Uma Chakravarti (historian and feminist activist)
Farah Naqvi (writer and activist)
Harsh Mandar (on behalf of Aman Biradari)
Kalyani Menon Sen (activist and researcher)
Brinelle D’Souza (TISS)
Geeta Seshu (journalist)
Arundhati Dhuru (human rights activist)
Madhavi Kukreja (women’s rights activist)
Ritu Dewan (economist)
Muniza Khan
Hameeda Khatoon
Dev Desai (social activist)
Johanna Lokhande
Nandita Narain
Sophia Khan (lawyer and women’s rights activist)
Nasiruddin Haider (journalist and activist)
Sangita Malshe
Manisha Gupte (women’s rights activist)
Biraj Mehta (academic)
Persis Ginwala
Sandhya Panaskar (women’s rights activist)
Purnima Gupta
Anita Rego
Dimple Oberoi Vahali
Mamta Singh (women’s rights activist)
Sadaf Jafar
Talat Aziz
Mumtaz Shaikh
Supriya Sonar
Padma (women’s rights activist)
Anita Cheria
Shilpa Phadke (academic)
Sylvia Karpagam (public health doctor and researcher)
Saurav Datta (journalist and activist)
Adv.Sanobar Kishwar
Runu Chakrvarty
Sheeba George (women’s rights activist)
Indian Christian Women’s Movement
Forum Against Oppression for women
Aawaz E Niswan
Parwaaz
Sahiyar