The stories of the miserable condition of women in Islam have no end to it. Once again a Muslim woman from Uttar Pradesh meets the same fate. Ikra Bano is not only the victim of Triple Talaq but has also faced sexual abuse by her father-in-law. Stories like these are not new as far as Islam is concerned, but what is shocking is, even after having a stringent law in place, women from Minority communities are facing ‘Triple Talaq’ or ‘Talaq-e-Biddat’.
We at Organiser bring to you the story of a woman from Uttar Pradesh who is a victim of Triple Talaq.
Ikra Bano, a resident of Moradabad district of Uttar Pradesh gave a police complaint against her husband Mohammad Intezar, father-in-law Mohammad Babu, mother-in-law Shafikan and brother-in-law Bahar Hussain. The FIR (number–314/2023) in the said complaint was registered on April 27 at the Majhola police station.
In the complaint, the victim told that she was married to Mohammad Intezar in January 2022. Soon after the marriage, her in-laws started demanding dowry. They would ask her to bring a motorcycle and a lakh rupees. Intezar used to beat her up every single day, he was an alcoholic. He had abused Ikra both mentally and physically.
I called Ikra Bano, a Triple Talaq victim who has given complaint to the Uttar Pradesh police against her husband & family.
"My father-in-law used to touch me inappropriately, he had a bad eye on me," stated Ikra in the FIR.
Filing report soon, read: pic.twitter.com/YfsWjCWBmn
— Subhi Vishwakarma (@subhi_karma) May 4, 2023
Further in the complaint she had mentioned how her father-in-law Babu molested her and tried making a physical relationship with her. She said, when Intezar was not at home, Babu barged into her room and tried touching her cheeks, he then moved to her chest area and touched her breasts. She screamed for help and ran out of the room. When she complained about the same with her husband he beat her up. Later Babu asked Intezar to give her triple talaq saying he will bring a new daughter-in-law for him.
Intezar gave her triple talaq on April 24.
Ikra,18, told Organiser that, this was not the first time that her father-in-law tried harassing her. He has been doing this for months, he had even tried kissing her. Every time she complained about it to her husband, he would say that she is framing things on her own.
Even her mother-in-law endorsed this behaviour of her father-in-law.
She said, she fears Intezar will bring another wife in her absence, her family spent all their savings to get her married, and if this marriage broke they will be shattered. Her father works as a labourer, she said.
As per the FIR the accused have been booked under IPC sections 498-A(harassment of a woman), 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 504 (intentionally insult), 354 (assault by criminal force) and sections 3 and 4 of the Prohibition of Dowry Act 1961 with sections 3 and 4 of the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Act, 2019.
What is Triple Talaq?
Islamic clerics often claim that ‘Talaq’ is highly unwanted in a marriage and the last resort of the husband. However, it is routinely seen that Muslim men use it as a tool to blackmail or harass their wives.
There are three types of Talaq that are being practiced in the Muslim society:
1. Talaq-e-Biddat: The instant Triple Talaq, where a man repeats this word thrice and the divorce is said to be done. This has been outlawed by the Indian government.
2. Talaq-e-Hassan: In this, the husband says the word ‘Talaq’ once for three consecutive months. After the cycle of three months is completed, the Talaq is done. Notably, the condition here is the husband can only give divorce to his wife when she is not on her periods. Many perform this way of ‘Talaq’ by uttering the word after every menstrual cycle of the woman.
3. Talaq-e-Ahsan: In this, the husband says the word ‘Talaq’ once and then the couple starts living separately. The woman has to spend some time there, usually a span of three menstrual cycles. This waiting period is called ‘iddat’. The husbands can revoke the Talaq anytime during the ‘iddat’ period.
The Triple Talaq Law, 2019
In August 2019, the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) bill became an act after it was passed by both houses of the parliament. The highlights from the law are:
1. Instant Triple Talaq or ‘Talaq-e-Biddat’ became illegal.
2. Police can arrest the man accused of Triple Talaq without any warrant.
3. The law provides imprisonment for a term of up to three years.
4. The woman who has been the victim of Triple Talaq will get custody of minor children.
5. The woman can ask for alimony, an amount to be decided by the magistrate.
6. The magistrate can grant bail to the accused only after the victim supports the decision.
It is notable that this law only curbs ‘Talaq-e-Biddat‘ whereas ‘Talaq-e-Hassan‘ and ‘Talaq-e-Ahsan‘ are allowed to be practised by Muslim men.
