Triple Talaq Petitioner Shayara Bano May Soon Join BJP

Triple Talaq crusader Shayara Bano on Sunday said she is willing to join the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) if given an opportunity in the future.

Speaking to ANI, Ms Bano applauded the BJP for making efforts in order to bring reforms in the existing Muslim Personal Laws.

"Our government is concerned about the Uniform Civil Code and the effects of polygamy. Looking at the efforts of the BJP government towards the Muslims, I have decided that if I get an opportunity to join the BJP I will definitely do so," she said.

Ms Bano was one of the petitioners who had filed a plea in the top court to put a ban on triple talaq, citing the practice as unfair and discriminatory for Muslim women residing in India.

Earlier speaking to ANI, Ms Bano emphasised that other practices such as polygamy and nikah halala should also be abolished in the country. "The way in which women are tortured in the name of these ill-practices should be stopped," she added.

The Supreme Court has set aside instant triple talaq or talaq-e-biddat as a "manifestly arbitrary" practice.

The Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Bill, 2017, which makes triple talaq a punishable offence, follows the top court judgment on August 22 last year in the Shayara Bano vs Union of India case.