Triple talaq petitioner's lawyer joins BJP

Amid the stalemate in Rajya Sabha over the passing of the triple talaq bill, Nazia Elahi Khan, the lawyer of triple talaq petitioner Ishrat Jahan, joined the BJP on Thursday.

Nazia was welcomed to the saffron party by the BJP's West Bengal unit president Dilip Ghosh, who was accompanied by party leader Mukul Roy.

When asked if she joined BJP because Ishrat had also done the same, Nazia said, "No. I have always worked for the rights of Muslim women and I needed a strong platform to raise my voice against the atrocities committed against Muslim women. The BJP has provided me with that platform."

Expressing satisfaction about the content of the bill in its present form, the lawyer said all efforts should be made to ensure that divorced Muslim women get their maintenance from their husbands.

"Penal provisions such as the imprisonment of husbands flouting the law is fair, but that does not solve the woes of the distressed women. We have to ensure that they get their maintenance money regularly. As lawyers, we frequently see that even after court orders, women who are separated from their husbands, do not get regular financial help from their estranged husbands and live a miserable life with their kids. This has to stop," Nazia said.

Ishrat Jahan, one of the five petitioners in the triple talaq case, had joined the BJP on Saturday.