Make all efforts to provide justice to Muslim women if victimised by social evils: PM on triple talaq

“There should not be exploitation of Muslim women. If there are social evils, the society should be woken up and efforts made to provide justice,” the PM said at the BJP national executive meeting.

Bhubaneswar: Emphasising his government's intent to provide justice to all Muslim women who feel discriminated due to the practise of triple talaq, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said that all efforts would be made to stop their exploitation, including through social awareness.

“There should not be exploitation of Muslim women. If there are social evils, the society should be woken up and efforts made to provide justice,” PTI quoted the PM as saying at the BJP national executive meeting here.

PM Modi also sought to allay apprehensions among Muslims about the BJP on the issue.

"He (Modi) talked about social justice. He said our Muslim sisters should also get justice. Injustice should not be done to them. Nobody should be exploited. We do not want that there is conflict within the Muslim community over this issue.

"What we have to do is that if there are any social evils, we have to wake up the society and make efforts to provide justice to them (Muslim women)," Union Minister Nitin Gadkari said while briefing reporters on Modi's speech.

Earlier, Modi also made an intervention during a discussion on a party resolution on his government's bill to accord constitutional status to the OBC Commission.

He noted that some backward sections of Muslims already enjoy the benefits from the OBC quota and such a commission will look into their concerns as well. Modi asked BJP leaders to reach out to them.

Asked about Modi's reference, Union Minister Prakash Javadekar said OBC quota includes followers of different religions, unlike the SC and ST quotas which are for sections of the Hindu community.  

Meanwhile, striking a defiant posture on the contentious issue of triple talaq, the AIMPLB has asserted that it had the "constitutional" right to implement Muslim personal law.

Maulana Wali Rehmani, the general secretary of All India Muslim Personal Law Board, said the board has decided to issue a code of conduct and warned that those who give talaq (divorce) without 'Sharia' (Islamic law) reasons will face social boycott.

"A code of conduct for talaq is being issued. With its help, the real picture of Shariat directives will be brought out on the talaq issue. If talaq is given without Shariat reasons, those involved will be socially boycotted," Rehmani told reporters.

The board is issuing appeals to all maulanas and imams of mosques to read out the code of conduct during Friday 'namaz' and emphasise on its implementation, he said.

The Board has made it clear that it will not tolerate any interference in the Shariat laws, and claimed that majority of the Muslims in the country do not want any change in their personal law.

Rehmani had earlier said that in the recent signature campaign initiated by the AIMPLB across the country, both men and women have said that the Constitution of India guarantees them the provision to practice their own religion.

He had also urged that no roadblocks should be put in the implementation of the personal laws.

The Union government had on October 7 last year opposed in the Supreme Court the practice of triple talaq, 'nikah halala' and polygamy among Muslims and favoured a relook on grounds like gender equality and secularism.

The Ministry of Law and Justice, in its affidavit, had referred to constitutional principles like gender equality, secularism, international covenants, religious practices and marital law prevalent in various Islamic countries to advocate that the practice of triple talaq and polygamy needed to be adjudicated upon afresh by the apex court.

(With agency inputs)