On 1st August 2020, Union Minority Affairs Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi informed that country observed the 1st Muslim Women Rights Day across India in accordance with the 1st anniversary of the passage of Muslim Women Act (Protetion on Rights on Marriage Act) 2019 on 1st August 2019 which against the act of triple talaq or talaq-e-biddat and help to achieve gender equality for Muslim women as Muslim Women Rights Day.
Background:
i.The Triple Talaq gave the privilege to Muslim men over their wives, which was approved and legalised under the Muslim Personal Law Application Act of 1937.
ii.On 30th July 2019, the triple talaq bill also known as the Muslim Women Act (Protection on Rights on Marriage Act) was passed by the Indian parliament, The Rajya Sabha passed the bill with 99 votes in favor and 84 against it.
iii.President Ram Nath Kovind gave his assent to the bill on 1st August 2019 and criminalized the instant oral triple talaq with jail term of upto 3 years.
Muslim Women Act (Protetion on Rights on Marriage Act):
- Muslim Women Act (Protection on Rights on Marriage Act) protects the rights of a married Muslim women and to prohibit the divorce by pronouncing talaq by their husbands.
- The act was deemed to have come into force on 19th September 2019, and is extended to all the parts of India Except the state of Jammu and Kashmir.
- The act stated that any pronouncement of talaq by a man in spoken or written or electronic form or any other manner, are void and illegal.
- The act entitled the woman to demand maintenance for her and her children.
Note:
Since the passage of the triple talaq bill in 2019, the triple talaq cases have declined by around 82%.
Events:
i.Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, Union Minister for Minority Affairs addressed the Muslim women across the nation in a virtual conference organised on the occasion of Muslim women rights day at the National Commission for Minorities office in New Delhi.
ii.Muslim women from New Delhi, Greater Noida, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Hyderabad participated in the conference.
Key People:
Ravi Shankar Prasad, Union Law Minister, Smriti Irani, Union Minister for Women and Child Development and Manjit Singh Rai, Vice-Chairperson, National Commission for Minorities were present at the event.
Triple talaq in other nations:
i.Egypt was the first Muslim country to abolish triple talaq in 1929 followed by Sudan, Pakistan in 1956, Bangladesh in 1972, Iraq in 1959, Syria in 1953, Malaysia in 1969
ii.Cyprus, Jordan, Algeria, Iran, Brunei, Morocco, Qatar and UAE also abolished the practice of Triple Talaq.
About Ministry of Minority Affairs:
Union Minister– Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi
Minister of State– Kiren Rijiju
