KOLKATA: Ishrat Jahan, the crusader against triple talaq and one of the petitioners who had moved the Supreme Court for doing away with the practice, said her fight had finally lead to a landmark victory.
“I am thankful to the Centre for its decision to table the Bill again after coming back into power. This day will be written in history. It will give all Muslim women dignity and bring a spell of fresh breeze in their lives,’’ said Ishrat.
The mother of two, who joined the BJP last year, said she has had to face the hostility of people, including her relatives, after she filed the petition. Recently, she was verbally abused by some men for attending a Hanuman Chalisa recital in hijab and her bother-in-law and her landlord had threatened her to vacate the apartment where she lives.
Criticising those who opposed the Bill in the Rajya Sabha, Ishrat said, “They are not worried about the plight of the victims. I am a living example of how difficult life can be. A woman’s life used to get ruined. Our fate, our entire lives cannot depend on the utterance of talaq thrice.”
Hitting out at those who opposed the clause on criminalising the practice, Ishrat said, “They have sympathy for those who are running Muslim women’s lives. They cannot see the men going to jail, but they can see a woman like me battling to stay alive. From today, women in the Muslim community will not be living with the fear of being abandoned overnight.” Ishrat had moved the SC after her husband divorced her over the phone from Dubai in 2014.