Bhubaneswar: More than 2000 members of the Talaki Mahila Sahayata Samiti in the state gathered at lower PMG Thursday to demand payment of maintenance to divorced Muslim women. Secretary of the Samiti, Mahe Afroj Begum said the government had been paying maintenance to more than 600 destitute divorced Muslim women from 2007 to March 2014.
Due to some unknown reasons, the disbursement of maintenance amount had been stopped from April 2014. The distressed women have been going through financial hardships since then. Afroj Begum also said that a Public interest litigation (PIL) was filed in the High Court of Odisha. The court had directed the authorities to disburse the sanctioned amount to the women December 10, 2018.
Saira Mirza, president of the Samiti, said the government claims to be pro-people and would take steps to bring the marginalized sections into mainstream society. It is high time the government does something for divorced Muslim women. It should ensure that these women are given the maintenance amount on time for them to meet their daily expenses. Around 2800 Muslim women are dependent on the maintenance amount for survival.
Recently, the first case in Odisha under the Triple Talaq Ordinance — passed by the Narendra Modi Government in September 2018 — has been registered by Pattamundai police in Kendrapara district. A woman lodged a complaint against her husband accusing him of divorcing her over phone. The victim, Taksima Khatun, 24, was married to Sk Rija of Kalapahada village under Aul police limits on November 28, 2017.
