Cabinet to take up bills on triple talaq, transgenders

New Delhi: In a major step towards empowering Muslim women and bringing transgenders into the mainstream, the Narendra Modi-led Union Cabinet is likely to consider two key bills, one on triple talaq and the other on the rights of transgenders, in Parliament.

The Cabinet, which is to meet on Friday, the first day of the Winter session of Parliament, is likely to clear the two proposed legislations, sources privy to the development said. The Centre is keen to get the transgenders bill, which has already been introduced in Lok Sabha, passed in this session. Having proactively worked on drafting the bill on triple talaq, the Centre, sources said, is bullish about introducing it during the Winter session as well.

The Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Bill, 2016, prohibits discrimination against a transgender person in areas such as education, employment and healthcare. It directs the Centre as well as states to create and implement welfare schemes for them. Most importantly, under this legislation, offences like compelling a transgender person to beg, denial of access to a public place, and physical or sexual abuse, attract up to two years’ imprisonment and a fine.

Last year, during the Monsoon session of Parliament, the Centre had decided to go back to the drawing board on various aspects related to the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Bill. It was referred to a parliamentary panel, which gave its report in July this year. Later, it was introduced in the Lok Sabha Monsoon session this year.

The bill defines a transgender person as one who is partly female or male or a combination of female and male, or neither female nor male. In addition, the person’s gender must not match the gender assigned at birth, and includes trans-men or trans-women persons with intersex variations and gender queers.

It also requires a transgender person to get a certificate for this from a district magistrate on the recommendation of a screening committee.

The Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Bill, 2017, gives women the right to seek maintenance from their husbands in the case of instant triple talaq or talaq-e-biddat, before a magistrate’s court. Under the provisions of the proposed legislation, instant triple talaq invites imprisonment of up to three years.