Union Minister for Minority Affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi will have special guests on Wednesday. Muslim women, who have been victims of triple talaq, have been invited to an Iftar party hosted by Naqvi. Around 100 divorcees and their families are expected to show up at the official residence of Naqvi and share their experiences while taking part in Iftar festivities. “It is a way to buck them up and inspire confidence”, said an aide to Naqvi.
The Supreme Court had in August, last year, held the Muslim practice of triple talaq unconstitutional and struck it down by 3:2 majority.
The SC said triple talaq violates the fundamental rights of Muslim women as it irrevocably ends marriage without any chance of reconciliation. Triple talaq , or verbal divorce, is practiced by some in the Muslim community to instantly divorce their wives by saying talaq three times.
As many as 20 Muslim countries had long before declared instant talaq as illegal or ‘Haram’ but in India it was being practiced with a retrograde section in the community seeking to continue it even as progressive Muslim women sought it to be struck down .
In its judgment , the apex court said that triple talaq is not recognised by Koran and hence it couldn't be a practice to be protected under the right to religion. Some observers, however, thought that a decision to declare triple talaq illegal should have been made solely on the basis of rights of women and not what religion says or advocates Naqvi may be the only BJP leader to be holding an Iftar party this time round at this residence.
last week President Ram Nath Kovind announced that he will not host an Iftar party this year, in accordance with his decision to not observe any religious functions inside Rashtrapati Bhawan at taxpayers' expense.
President Kovind, who assumed office last July, decided not to use Rashtrapati Bhavan for any religious observance. Iftar is the evening meal with which Muslims break their fast at sunset during the Ramzan month. Though Iftar is meant for those who observe pious routine during the month, it has, for long, been used for achieving political dividends.