Michael Vaz
In barely three days there have been two path-breaking verdicts of the Supreme Court that have spun the country, pervaded in age old norms of regressive thinking, upside down. On Tuesday the apex court ruled that triple talaq, which had been staunchly supported by the Shariat along with the clerics and Islamic scholars for 1400 years, was unlawful, putting a delimiter to patriarchal dominated rules in the society and giving an opportunity to the womenfolk of the community to live in peace, without the Damocles’ sword hanging over their head perpetually.
It is unfathomable that when Islamic countries like Pakistan and Bangladesh had banned the archaic practice of triple talaq long ago, how such loathsome practice persisted in India, and defended ruthlessly for so long. I was under the impression that such detestable practice was prevalent only among the underprivileged groups where the women are completely dependent on the male counterparts and find it impossible to retaliate. However, some instances reveal that ladies even with post graduate and MBA qualifications have been the victims of this scourge. We must realise that injustice will one day be weeded out when fought ruthlessly.
On Thursday the Supreme Court unanimously observed that privacy is a fundamental right that finds place under the right to life and personal liberty. Undeniably, such a right cannot be absolute and will be subjected to reasonable restrictions. The derivatives that fall out from this verdict can come as a great solace for divergent groups. For instance the criminalization of Section 377 of IPC on consensual sex between LGBT communities, which till now attracts penal action, is certain to come out for revision, as it deals with individual preferences, may be of a small community, but needs to be respected.
The final step should be to see the imposition of a Uniform Civil Code so that in family matters pertaining to marriage, divorce, inheritance and alimony there would just be one law in the country irrespective of religion.
