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14 THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, <strong>2017</strong> DT Opinion The politics of triple talaq Good change takes time A better deal for Muslim women? REUTERS activists and a sizable section of Hindu community keeping the provision opting out in marriage registration. All quarters of the community are more or less happy and Awami League’s traditional Hindu vote bank remains intact. Ideally though, a law confirming this simple basic right shouldn’t have taken so long. How did the BJP become interested in Muslim personal laws and that too being a Hindu nationalist political party, whereas Congress and others maintained a careful distance? There are two explanations. Pretense of progress Firstly, the fact that the BJP aim for Hindu vote consolidation in its favour with anti-Muslim rhetoric. Thus it generally has no expectations for Muslim votes. It can have several tones. One, they don’t do (so-called) Muslim appeasement, like others. Two, they have sympathy for the oppressed quarters of the minority. Often the BJP talks about Muslims being used as vote bank by pseudo secularists, implying that the BJP are the real seculars, just a Hindu party. Perhaps the truth lies somewhere between the two explanations. Only .03% of Indian Muslim women were affected by triple talaq. It’s not a major issue concerning Indian Muslims. The triple talaq judgment actually won’t change the careful approach the Indian state takes to personal laws of the minorities. The judges who gave their decision in favour of banning triple talaq delivered it from the theological ground that the practice isn’t mentioned in the Qur’an, and hence is not fundamental to the Qur’an. They were perhaps mindful of the sensitivity and long-settled status of Muslim personal laws in the Indian context and the social dangers of rapid judicial interventions in a politicallycharged environment. Good changes must come. It’s better that they come gradually. • Sarwar Jahan Chowdhury is a freelance commentator on politics, society and international relations. He currently works at BRAC Institute of Governance and Development (BIGD). • Sarwar Jahan Chowdhury The Supreme Court of India recently suspended the practice of Talaq-e-Biddat (instant triple talaq) as unconstitutional for six months, and asked the government of India to enact statute to this effect, including other relevant aspects of Muslim marriage and divorce. The judgment came on a narrow 3:2 split decision from a five member bench which included the then chief justice JS Khehar. Interestingly, all five judges come from five different religions -- Islam, Sikhism, Hinduism, Parsi, and Christianity. However, regular triple talaq with proper procedure and time was not an issue in the petition and hence, stands valid as always. The credit of moving the petition primarily goes to few brave Muslim women who courageously moved to the apex court against this highly regressive religious practice. It’s noteworthy here that in Bangladesh and Pakistan, instant triple talaq has been banned for ages. But, like in Bangladesh, successive government in India were hesitant to deal with matters of minority personal laws. Even the British Raj was careful about socio-religious practices of the people of the sub-continent, and they basically created laws to give formal character to these practices in their system, for example, the Sahriayat Act 1937. After 1947, both in India and Pakistan, the governments did some codification of personal laws of their majority communities, for example, the Hindu Code Bill 1951 and the Muslim Family Laws Ordnance 1961. It was relatively easy to pass common Hindu family laws because of the diversity within the Hindus and absence of a Muslimlike, well organised communal jurisprudence. Too much trouble Bangladesh, after its independence, furthered the 1961 Act with Family Act Ordnance of 1985. All these states refrained from doing or were very slow to do much to codify the minority personal laws, let alone reforming those. For example, despite the big number of cases of Bangladeshi Hindu women being abused and abandoned by their husbands, and in spite of repeated demands from prominent activists, the Hindu Marriage Registration Act has only recently been enacted in Bangladesh, and that too as a voluntary basis -- not as compulsory. There has hardly been any formal record of marriage of Hindu women in Bangladesh, nor were there any provisions of alimony from ex husbands or property rights (from both father and husband). Mainstream political parties don’t want to get into these issues considering these troublesome. All mainstream political parties in South Asia maintained a traditional apathy and careful distance from minority personal matters due to the communally charged history of the sub-continent. In fact, this sort of disinterest closes most channels for women within the minority communities if they wish for any justice against the highly regressive patriarchal practices of their communities. Politics behind laws However, of late, there have been some movements. Pakistan, like Bangladesh, has also enacted Hindu marriage act, and the Indian court has banned instant triple talaq. But there seems to be varying degree of politics linked to it. In Bangladesh, the incumbent Awami League, which is officially a secular party, only did it after substantial pressure from rights How did the BJP become interested in Muslim personal laws, and that too being a Hindu nationalist political party, whereas others maintained a careful distance? and they work for their slogan “Sab ka sath, sab ka bikas” (with all, progress for all). In reality, it often seems, they have no wish to offer any social progress package to the socially backward Muslims. Rather, their activities with regards to cow protection have indeed put the Indian Muslims, for whom beef is a staple food and cheap source of protein, in considerable peril from the newly cropped up cow vigilante goons. That being said, with not much progress in development matters, the party is looking for votes from any corner to prevent anti-incumbency momentum developing before 2019. Hence, more Hindutva are targeting a section of Muslim women votes. The second explanation is a more naïve one, which is the BJP is getting interested to become an all-inclusive party gradually, and it wants to shed the label of being
Opinion 15 DT THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, <strong>2017</strong> Lay to waste How can we manage Dhaka’s overwhelming waste problem? Not good for the people • Shishir Reza Waste management in pre-industrial times was trouble-free, as most of the waste consisted of unrefined materials which decomposed naturally. With the change of consumption patterns, nonbiodegradable synthetic materials such as plastic have become one of the leading causes of marine and coastal pollution. The management of waste is one of the obligatory functions of urban governance institutions in Bangladesh. The yearly escalation in urban population of Bangladesh is over 3.3%. Population Division of UN (2016) has mentioned the urban population status in Bangladesh: It was 23.8% in 2000; 30.4 % in 2010, and it is 34.9% now. It can be 38% of the total population by the year of 2020. Waste generation has also augmented proportionately with the intensification of urban inhabitants. As such, innercity governing institutions are facing difficulties to keep up and ensure ample waste management services. Staggering numbers Approximately 250 industries discharge chemical effluents into urban water bodies. Each day, 4,000 tonnes solid waste and 22,000 tonnes tannery waste mix with water in four rivers of Dhaka city. Pollution in Dhaka city is mainly composed of 48% pulp and paper, 16% pharmaceuticals, 15% metals, 12% food industry, and 7% fertilisers/pesticides. In urban areas, waste is discharged directly into the rivers and low-lying parts around the urban areas. Disposal management of solid waste in the urban area is inadequate. Household garbage, industrial waste, and waste from clinics and hospitals are all dumped in the same place. The daily waste production in Dhaka city is about 3,000 metric tons, of which 40% is left on the streets. Nowadays, in Dhaka South City Corporation, 3,500 tonnes of waste are generated from which only 1,900 tonnes are processed. Although there are 1,000 street cleaners in the Dhaka City corporations, most of the streets are never swept. In addition, the generation of electronic waste -- such as television, refrigerator, computer, tube lights, and mobile phones -- has created a new threat for us. Environment and development organisations mention that during the period of 2011-12, it was five million metric tons and over 2013-14, it was 11 million metric tons. The figures are on the rise in Bangladesh. Can anything save us? With the current practices in collection and transportation of solid waste in municipal areas of Bangladesh, the city corporations are faced with severe challenges to tackle the rapid deterioration of environmental and sanitation security. This results in unhygienic and filthy living conditions in urban The daily waste production in Dhaka city is about 3,000 metric tons, of which 40% is left on the streets Dhaka. With the multiplicity of environmental problems created by urban waste, now the question of governance regarding urban solid waste management is more imperative than ever. As an urban governance institution, the city corporation is primarily accountable to enforce existing policies in managing its solid waste through recycling and non-polluting disposal methods. In general, governance of waste management is essential for environmental security. Integrated waste management MAHMUD HOSSAIN OPU includes re-use, source reduction, recycling, composting, land-filling, and incineration. Better use of the 3Rs (reuses, reduce, and recycle) strategy can play a vital role to 100% waste reduction. In addition, largescale composting and recycling programs ensure 10% and 30% waste reduction. For liquid wastes and effluents disposal, we have to set up waste and effluent treatment plants in every red and orangecoloured factory, enlisted by the environment department following environmental laws and policies. For medical waste disposal, incineration would be feasible. As the heap of waste materials create odour pollution, the establishment of green buildings and related incentives would give confidence to take up recycledcontent materials and instruments at new construction sites. In urban areas, awareness about waste management, odour pollution, and impacts of effluents among people is urgent. • Shishir Reza is an environment analyst and Associate Member of Bangladesh Economic Association.
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