Ahead Of Talaq Abolition Bill, UP Man Bashes Wife And Pronounces Talaq For Waking Up Late  

Ramnagar (UP): While the triple talaq bill is scheduled to be tabled in the Parliament on Thursday, a woman in Uttar Pradesh on Wednesday woke up to find her husband uttering the three dreaded words.

Gul Afshan, a resident of Azimnagar in Rampur district, said that her husband Qasim thrashed her and divorced her by uttering talaq thrice because she woke up late in the morning.

The wife alleged that later, Qasim escaped from the house after locking her up inside. The police had to break in.

Narrating her six-month-old abusive marriage, she said that he used to beat her from the very beginning.

The police said that they can't do anything as the woman has not filed a complaint against her husband as of now.

The incident comes to light just ahead of the introduction of the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Bill.

The bill, which seeks to criminalise the practice of triple talaq, will be tabled in the Lok Sabha by Union Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad today.

While the Supreme Court and Centre have called for the scrapping of triple talaq, terming it "illegal and unconstitutional", some Muslim women are still facing the brunt of this age-old practice.

Earlier, the Supreme Court declared the practice of instant divorce as void and unconstitutional and termed it as arbitrary and violative of the right to equality of Muslim women.

It was cleared by the Union Cabinet earlier this month.

The bill was listed for introduction last week, but Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananth Kumar later told reporters that it would be introduced this week.

As per the provisions of the bill, the husband could also be fined and the quantum of fine would be decided by the magistrate hearing the case.

The bill is being introduced as the practice still continued despite the Supreme Court striking down ‘talaq-e- biddat’

The proposed law would only be applicable to instant triple talaq and it would give power to the victim to approach a magistrate seeking “subsistence allowance” for herself and minor children.

The woman can also seek the custody of her minor children from the magistrate who will take a final call on the issue.