Various Islamic extremist outfits formed by Indian expatriates based in West Asia have started a “global campaign” against the Centre’s move to amend the laws to ban triple talaq, a long time bane faced by Muslim women in the country. The move is being seen as a prosecutable offence by Constitutional experts like senior BJP leader Subramanian Swamy who has asked the Union Government to take up the matter with the Government of Kuwait.
This is the first time that the Islamic extremist outfits settled abroad coming out in the open challenging the Government’s move. Kuwait Islamiya Tamil Sangham, is one of the organisations in the forefront which has challenged the Centre’s proposal to go ahead with reforming the outdated personal laws including marriage rules of the Muslim society.
A release issued by the Kuwait Islamiya Sangham claims that the BJP-led NDA Government at the Centre is out to destroy the freedom granted to the Muslims in India by the country’s Constitution.
“The move to introduce Uniform Civil Code is with an eye to liquidate the Islamic religion from the sub-continent. This is against the right enjoyed by the minorities to practice and propagate their religion. We will not allow such a move by the Indian Government,” says the release which has been distributed by the office bearers of the Sangham.
What is striking is that the release does not contain the names of the office bearers of the Sangham since outsiders are not allowed to form unions or associations in Kuwait. The pictures of the signature campaign by the Sangham has been posted in the social media.
Subramanian Swamy, MP, pointed out that Kuwait is being used as a platform by these Islamic outfits to campaign against India. “It is a prosecutable offence as it is an open interference by these groups in the internal affairs of the country. They are using Kuwait, a friendly country towards India, to launch campaign against the Union Government. The Centre, especially the Ministry of foreign affairs, should take up the matter with the Government of Kuwait and prosecute the people engaged in this kind of campaigning,” Swamy told The Pioneer.
The move by the Centre is in response to a letter sent to Prime Minister Narendra Modi by the office bearers by the Bharatiya Muslim Mahila Aandolan, an outfit of Muslim women with pan-India presence.
In a letter to the Prime Minister sent last October, the Aandolan office bearers had pointed out that all Muslim countries the world over such as Morocco, Tunisia, Turkey, Egypt, Jordan and even Bangladesh and Pakistan in our neighbourhood have codified personal laws governing marriage and family matters. “Thanks to the self-appointed conservative leaders, Indian Muslims are denied this opportunity. As a result, we see instances of triple talaq and polygamy in our society,” said the letter signed by Zakia Soman and Noorjehan Safia Niaz, office bearers of BMMA.
Soman said those opposing the Centre’s move were doing so without understanding the demands made by Muslim women in India. “These people want the gender discrimination in Muslim society to continue and Muslim women to be like slaves,” said Soman.