The All-India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) on Thursday came out with its women members and supporters in an attempt to show that Muslim women were on board with its stance on triple talaq .
At a press conference organised by the AIMPLB here, women members and supporters of the Board said they would oppose a move to ban triple talaq , which Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke out against earlier this week.
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The much-debated practice of immediate divorce is currently the subject of a Supreme Court case, with some Muslim women’s organisations seeking a ban on the grounds that it discriminates against women.
For its part, the AIMPLB has submitted in its affidavit to the apex court that though triple talaq is “undesirable”, it is “permissible” in Islam.
Dr. Asma Zehra, executive member of the AIMPLB, said that Muslim women from across the country were coming together to demand that Muslim personal law be protected. “Muslim women are safe and secure under Muslim personal laws. All of a sudden, this government is talking of gender justice. We want to ask them how well-represented are women in legislatures, in the judiciary, in top universities and in the military,” said Dr. Zehra.
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She said that the Modi government had “new-found love for Muslim women,” but had remained silent on the plight of riot victims in Gujarat.
“The Prime Minister was right when he said this is not a ‘Hindu-Muslim issue’. This is an issue created by the RSS. Indians need to decide whether we want to follow the Constitution, which gives us religious rights, or the saffron brigade,” she said.
The AIMPLB has also started a signature campaign in support of its protest. Kamal Faruqui, a member of the AIMPLB, said that lakhs of signatures had been collected from Muslim women across the country in the past week.
The other side
Meanwhile, the women supporting the AIMPLB hit out against Muslim women’s organisations who were demanding a ban on triple talaq . These organisations, they said, had become tools in the hands of the BJP, which had included a uniform civil code in its manifesto.
The Bharatiya Muslim Mahila Andolan (BMMA), which is one of the petitioners in the Supreme Court case against triple talaq , dismissed the allegations.
Zakia Soman, co-founder of the BMMA, said that the organisation had been working in the field for 10 years and had consistently demanded equality for women. She said the BMMA’s argument against triple talaq was that it was not as per the Quran.
“The action of the AIMPLB over the past 30 years has led to the image of Islam as being anti-women. They are spreading misinformation about the Quran, so they can say anything about us,” she said.
Replying to the allegation that the women’s groups were supporting the BJP government, Ms. Soman said that they had criticised the government on the issue of riots, beef ban, etc., but on triple talaq the government’s affidavit was “appropriate”.
Muslim women are safe under Muslim laws. All of a sudden, this government
is talking of
gender justice
The AIMPLB has
also started a signature campaign in support of
its protest