UP government to provide free legal aid, ₹6,000 annual allowance to triple talaq victims

In a first-of-its-kind interaction with women divorced by their husbands through triple talaq, a Muslim practice that was criminalised this year, the CM said the government was ready to come to the aid of all women -- whether they be Muslim or Hindu.

The Uttar Pradesh government will ensure an annual allowance of ₹6,000 to triple talaq victims besides providing them housing and the means to earn a livelihood, chief minister Yogi Adityanath said on Wednesday.

The Uttar Pradesh government will ensure an annual allowance of ₹6,000 to triple talaq victims besides providing them housing and the means to earn a livelihood.(Raj K Raj/HT PHOTO)

In a first-of-its-kind interaction with women divorced by their husbands through triple talaq, a Muslim practice that was criminalised this year, the CM said the government was ready to come to the aid of all women -- whether they be Muslim or Hindu.

“The government wants to make it clear that even Hindu men who have left their wives and are harassing them would not be spared,” he said.

Parliament in July passed the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Bill, which outlawed the practice of instant triple talaq and stipulated three years in jail for violations. The bill had been a top priority for the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government. and was the first legislation introduced in Parliament after the Bharatiya Janata Party-led coalition was re-elected to power.

Adityananath said as many as 273 cases of triple talaq had been registered across Uttar Pradesh in the past one year, and directed the additional chief secretary (home) to personally review these cases.

Adityanath said that a mechanism would be found to help the victims contest their cases free of cost in a court of law. “I want the home department to make an arrangement for this,” he said.

The CM also said that victims who were educated should be absorbed in government service. “Such women should be skilled so that they can get jobs. The government will also put in efforts to bring all such victims under the ambit of government welfare schemes and ensure that they have some means to earn their livelihood,” he said.

“A scheme should be rolled out to rehabilitate deserted women. They will be given ₹6,000 per annum till the time they get justice from the court of law. If they do not have a house to live in, it can be arranged under the Prime Minister Awas Yojana or the CM Awas Yojana,” he added.

The chief minister also announced his intention to bring triple talaq victims under the ambit of government health schemes. He instructed the minority affairs department to see that, if required, victims received benefits from properties owned by the Waqf.

During the programme, five victims of triple talaq -- Reshma Bano from Jaunpur, Shumaila Javed from Amroha, Haseena from Sidhharthnagar, Hina Fatima from Sitapur and Ruhi Fatima from Aligarh -- interacted with the CM and spoke of the hardships they were experiencing after being abandoned by their husbands.

Shumaila Javed, a national level netball player and a triple talaq victim, said that she and others like her were faced a challenge in earning a livelihood. “We have children to look after as we fight against the atrocities committed on us. On top of that we have nothing in hand...even the police did not cooperate with us,” she said.