Kolkata: The political establishment of the country may have locked horns over the passage of the Triple Talaq Bill in Parliament, but one of Kolkata’s most prominent Muslim Royal families has welcomed the move.
Dr Talat Fatima, the great-great-granddaughter of Nawab of Oudh Wajid Ali Shah, backed the controversial legislation and called for the “abrogation” of instant triple talaq in the country.
Speaking to News18.com, Fatima said, “Triple Talaq has been banned in 22 Islamic countries. Hence, it must be immediately abrogated in India.”
Fatima — a former Principal of Law College in Dholpur, Rajasthan and author of Cyber Crimes — said, “Triple Talaq is regarded as Talaq-e-Biddat by the Prophet and originated in Arab countries when writing was not in fashion. In India, it is highly misused by non-serious husbands and is responsible for the miseries, abject condition of Muslim women.”
Dr Talat Fatima, the great-great-granddaughter of Nawab of Oudh Wajid Ali Shah.
She also expressed support for Muslim women who have been abandoned or rendered homeless by their husbands.
“I stand with lakhs of victimised and helpless Muslim women who were thrown out of their houses like a bag of rotten apples by their haughty husbands. When the erratic husband realises his mistake and wants to take back his divorced wife, he asks the woman to opt for Halala. This encourages another obnoxious tradition which insults women. Hence, Triple Talaq must go,” she said.
Halala is an Islamic marriage practised primarily by certain sects of Sunni Muslims, which requires a divorced woman to marry someone else, consummating the marriage and then get a divorce in order to remarry her first husband.
The great-great-grandson of Wajid Ali Shah, Shahanshah Mirza, also opposed the practice, but said there were bigger issues facing Muslims in the country.
“I am against Triple Talaq but the issue is very small compared to other problems which Muslims are facing across the country. The issue (of Triple Talaq) is not troubling the Muslim community as a whole. There are issues like education, health and housing that need to be addressed for the larger benefit of the Muslim society,” he said.
Shahanshah Mirza further called for people to be “educated” as a “mere law” cannot ensure love between a husband and wife. “Resorting to divorce because the wife did not serve tea in the morning is just insane. That person is not normal. There needs to be a plan to educate people,” he said.
The Muslim Women Protection of Rights in Marriage Bill, 2017, which criminalises instant triple talaq and makes it a non-bailable offence, was passed by the Lok Sabha but remained deadlocked in the Rajya Sabha. The bill will now be taken up in the Budget Session.
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