After triple talaq bill, woman divorced for waking up late told to remarry husband

A panchayat was hurriedly called with the consent of the woman’s family and her in-laws.

Hours after Union law minister Ravi Shankar Prasad mentioned the case of a Rampur woman while introducing the triple talaq bill in the Parliament, a local panchayat asked her to observe ‘iddat’ and ‘halala’ as the couple decided to remarry.

Muslim women watch the parliamentary debate on triple talaq bill, on a TV in Lucknow on Thursday. (PTI)

‘Iddat’ is the period of separation observed by a woman after divorce or death of spouse, while ‘halala’ entails marrying another man, consummating marriage and divorcing him before remarrying previous husband.

Ironically, the panchayat’s decision gave credit to the triple talaq given to her by her husband.

The 21-year-old woman, a resident of Ajimnagar in Rampur, was given triple talaq on Tuesday allegedly because she had overslept. Her husband, who is a driver, pushed her out of the house on Wednesday saying that he could not live with her anymore. Abandoned by her husband, she left for her parents’ house. On Thursday, a panchayat was hurriedly called by both the sides when the matter was widely reported in the media after the law minister’s speech.

When asked why the panchayat recognised the triple talaq in the first place, Ahmed replied: “The decision was taken by the elders from both the families.”

The woman had earlier told the HT that she would not accept triple talaq and would opt for a formal divorce if insisted by her husband. The woman’s family members did not allow her to speak to the media and claimed she was observing ‘iddat’.

The husband declined to comment on the issue.

Local police or government authorities did not intervene in the matter.

“We have not received any formal complaint regarding the meeting. We cannot take any action arbitrarily in such matters,” superintendent of police, Rampur, Vipin Tada said.