While the entire nation is celebrating and praising the verdict of Supreme Court over triple talaq, West Bengal political parties seem to have chosen to be tight lipped over the matter.
Supreme Court on Tuesday announced the much-awaited change in the process of divorce followed in the Muslim community. The SC by a majority verdict set aside the practice of divorce through triple talaq among Muslims, saying the practice was void, illegal and unconstitutional. It banned the evil custom of triple talaq for six months and has asked the government to form a new constitution to permanently abduct this custom.
However, Mamata Banerjee led government in West Bengal does not seem to be celebrating the change. TMC, which is known to be an active party to participate and comment on every decision taken nationally, be it demonetisation or implementation of GST, this time is quite over the verdict. The possible reason behind this muteness may be that since West Bengal accommodates a majority of Muslim population the party might be following the appeasement policy.
In his statement to ET Trinamool Congress MP, Sultan Ahmed said that he as a political person cannot comment on the development. Though he was one of the active participants to oppose the ban on triple talaq. He organised several protest programmes, conventions, seminars to obtain support in favour of Muslim Personal Law board and against central government’s efforts to implement a ban on triple talaq.
It is not just the TMC remaining quite over the matter but other parties including Congress and CPM have also not commented on the issue. Above all, there has been no reaction from Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee also on this.
Bengal, with a large Muslim population, witnessed a maximum number of protest rallies, road shows, agitation happening against the ban on Triple Talaq. The state has good representation from the Muslim community in the Parliament.ET tried to talk to at least six of 10 Muslim MPs from all political parties. Trinamool MPs like Sultan Ahmed, Idris Ali, Ahmed Hassan Imran refused to comment while CPM MP Mohammad Salim said he had been camping in his flood-affected constituency in North Bengal and Congress MP Mausam Noor remained unavailable for comment on this issue despite several attempts.
Responding to the quietness of Bengal political parties over the SC’s verdict Professor Syed Tanveer Nasreen who led a movement to bring justice to women, who became the victim of triple talaq said that “They are silent because they do not support any reform in Muslim society. It can hurt their vested interest. The Muslim clerics who issue a fatwa to vote for a particular political party are against this reform. Bengal is one of those states that has a very high Muslim population. Most of the political parties use minorities as their vote bank. So, they have to exercise restraint.”
A coordinator of the joint movement committee formed to highlight the sufferings of divorced Muslim women in Bengal and a women’s right activist Nasreen praised the decision taken by the Supreme court. She said that “This verdict is a marginal relief for the Muslim women. This is a decade old movement, but it was always covered up by political manipulation. In last one year, with the support of the new government, the movement intensified. We will expect the Parliament to bring a legislation soon.”
Justice Ashok Ganguly, retired justice of SC commented that “All sensible people should agree with this since this ruling restores the constitutional rights of women.”
A 24 year old Bobby Khatun, from West Bengal whose husband divorced her by sending Talaq message through whats app, appreciated that finally, the Muslim women got the right to equality and justice was done to all the victims by ensuring that no other Muslim women will suffer the ill effects of triple talaq. She said that “For last two years I have been fighting for my rights. But the Sharia court never pays heed to a woman’s prayer. My husband divorced me when I was seven months pregnant. My parents failed to satisfy their dowry demands. Now I would get justice.”
Interestingly four districts of West Bengal Malda, Murshidabad, Birbhum and South 24 Parganas have a good number of women who have been affected by “triple talaq. These women also actively participated in demonstrating protest against the evil practice of triple talaq and fought for their rights. They participated in various rallies, seminars and conventions trying to sensitize people against the practice. But of course, these protest to bring in social changes, being practiced from ages come with a heavy price to be paid. These women fighting for their rights were literally humiliated and boycotted from the Muslim community.
However, now with the new change in the process of divorce in Muslims, though late but has brought relief to several women giving them the security of equality and justice.