The discussion over Triple Talaq Bill is still going on in Lok Sabha and is expected to pass by this evening. The chances are that it could get stuck in the Rajya Sabha. Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself has said that he hopes that the bill will be passed.
Triple Talaq bill proposes a three-year jail term for a Muslim man who divorces his wife by uttering, writing, emailing, SMSing or WhatsApping the word “talaq” thrice.
The members of Rajya Sabha are still deciding if it’s needed or not, however, a recent incident clearly indicates that we need this bill to be passed more than ever.
The recent victim of Triple Talaq, Gul Afsha was divorced by her husband Qasim because she overslept. Yes. The man uttered “talaq, talaq, talaq” just because she was unable to wake up at time.
This bizarre incident happened in Nagaliya Aqil village in Rampur district of Uttar Pradesh on 26 December 2017. Just two days ahead of the Triple Talaq bill decision, a woman had to lose everything to her sleep.
Waking up late can never be justified for divorce. Gul Afsha has been married to Qasim for only four months. Qasim is a truck driver and he started abusing his wife physically just after a few weeks of the marriage.
The victim states that she couldn’t sleep on Monday night as Qasim has beaten her up. She slept late so she couldn’t wake up early and when she did, three words “talaq, talaq, talaq” destroyed all her happiness.
The SHO of Azimnagar, Sanjay Yadav hasn’t lodged a complaint against Qasim owing to the fact that he is AWOL since Tuesday. The villagers state that oversleeping could not be the only reason for the divorce, however, the victim sticks to her claim.
It’s a relief to know that even the villagers consider this excuse too shallow and lame to get a divorce. If Gul is stating truth (as Qasim hasn’t come back since Tuesday, so we don’t know his part of the story), then its high time that Government takes strict action against this practice. Unless we set an example for such maniacs they will keep destroying women’s lives.
If the Bill which hopefully will be passed today would have already become law. No Muslim man would have dared to seek divorce via Triple Talaq.
Avni S. Singh