We are confident it will uphold gender justice. No one believed triple talaq would be banned. But today it has become history, says Zakia Soman
Women's rights activists welcomed the historic Supreme Court judgement on triple talaq, but said the onus was now on legislators to follow through with effective legislation on the issue.
Reacting to the apex court order, Noorjehan Safia Niaz, convenor of Bharatiya Muslim Mahila Andolan and one of the petitioners in the Triple Talaq case, said, "What we have understood from the initial reports that have come is that three out of five judges have declared triple talaq as unconstitutional. This is what we were expecting. Now the ball is in the Parliament's court. We have always wanted codification of law. It is a wonderful judgement."
Zakia Soman, co-founder of Bharat Muslim Mahila Andolan and a petitioner said, "It is a welcome judgement. We wanted justice from the court, and they have given us that in banning triple talaq and calling for legislation. The legislation has to be based on the Quranic injunction and comply with the constitutional principles. This is perfectly possible. We are confident it will uphold gender justice. No one believed triple talaq would be banned. But today it has become history."
Director of women's rights organisation, Majlis, Flavia Agnes said the issue was always one that would have to be ultimately dealt with by the legislature. "Everybody said pass a law, but media created a hype. Everybody seemed to be taking everybody to court, when it is the legislature's domain. The issue cannot be one of community women against the community. It needs to be discussed with people from the Board and all people affected. This should be a community-based reform. Right now there is legislative vacuum because triple talaq is not legally valid, but women have been divorced," Agnes said.
Mumtaz Shaikh, convenor of 'Right to Pee' and member of Committee of Resource Organisation, which works for women empowerment and grass root leadership, said, "The Supreme Court judgement should be welcomed by all. Women have got justice. Now it has to be seen how they react to this. Law should be there in such a case but all people should be consulted before making a law and not just those who feel triple talaq is right and as per Quran. But the law should not remain limited to this subject. There are other issues too that concern women, such as education, access to basic amenities, and polygamy. They too should be looked into."
(With inputs from agencies)
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