NAINITAL: Reacting to the bill against triple talaq passed in
Lok Sabha
on Thursday,
Shayara Bano, the 38-year-old woman from
Kashipur
in
Udham Singh Nagar
district who has emerged as a prominent face in the battle against triple talaq told TOI that this was “a big step towards eradicating the regressive practice which has humiliated women since centuries.” However, she added that the law needs to be implemented strongly.
"Despite the
Supreme Court banning instant triple talaq in August, there were several cases being reported. I know of one case that happened just yesterday in Rampur (in UP). Now that the law is being put in place, it needs to be implemented strictly in order to ensure women are not exploited any further,” said the mother of two who shot into the limelight when she petitioned the Supreme Court in February last year after receiving a talaqnama by post from her husband, a property dealer in Allahabad in October 2015.
Following her petition, the apex court in August declared instant talaq as a "manifestly arbitrary" practice. This was hailed as a big victory for Muslim women throughout the country making Bano’s name synonymous with the fight for abolition of triple talaq. Meanwhile, the gutsy woman who is a post-graduate in sociology from Kumaun University and is currently pursuing an MBA is still fighting a case in the family court of Kashipur for the custody of her two children who at present live with her husband.
On Friday, Bano was also facilitated by state finance minister
Prakash Pant
in her home town. Pant hailed her for “her courage in highlighting the ordeal of millions of women across the country.” He added that “the passing of the bill in the Lok Sabha is just one step in a big journey.” “We are determined to get the bill passed in the upper house of the Parliament as well,” the minister said.
As for her future plans, Bano said she wants to continue fighting against the other evils that plague women in her community. “My next battle would be against the practice of polygamy,” she said. Her father
Iqbal Ahmed
, a former accountant with the Indian Army added that institutions like the Muslim Personal Law Board were “equally responsible for the regressive situation of Muslim women.”
She added: “The board did nothing except being complicit in the entire situation by supporting the practice. If they would have taken action against this practice, the situation could have been far better for our women.”
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