UP govt to provide ₹6,000 annually to triple talaq victims

LUCKNOW: The Uttar Pradesh government will provide ₹6,000 as annual allowance for victims of the banned practice of instant triple talaq, besides providing the needy ones among them with housing facility and the means to earn their livelihood, announced chief minister Yogi Adityanath on Wednesday.

In a first-of-its-kind interaction with triple talaq victims in Lucknow, the CM said the government was ready to support all women -- whether Hindu or Muslim. “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.

Speaking about the triple talaq

› The government wants to make it clear that even Hindu men who have left their wives and are harassing them would not be spared YOGI ADITYANATH, CM

statistics, Yogi said, “As many as 273 cases of triple talaq have been registered across the state in the past one year.” He then 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 the 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 services. “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,” said Yogi.

“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 MinisterAwasYojana(PMAY)or the CM Awas Yojana,” he added.

The chief minister also announced his intention to bring the victims under the ambit of health schemes such as ‘Ayushman Bharat’ or the ‘CM Jan Arogya Yojana’. He directed the officials concerned to ensure that the schemes were expanded to benefit triple talaq victims.

Further, Adityanath instructed the minority affairs department to see that, if required, victims were benefited from the properties owned by the Waqf.

During the programme, five victims of triple talaq -- Reshma Bano from Jaunpur, Sumaila Javed from Amroha, Haseena from Sidhharthnagar, Hina Fatima from Sitapur and Ruhi Fatima from Aligarh -- interacted with the CM and narrated their struggle to him. They also talked about the hardships they were facing in getting justice.

Many other victims from across the state handed over written grievances to the government on the occasion.

Sumera Javed, a national level player and a triple talaq victim, said that she and others like her were facing challenges in earning their 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.

Another victim, Hina Fatima, said, “We have been thrown out of our houses. I urge the government to help us to sail through this time of tedious legal procedures.”