New Delhi: Hadiya, the Kerala woman whose conversion to Islam and marriage to a Muslim man resulted in a landmark ruling by the Supreme Court about the autonomy of adult women, has denied her father’s fresh allegation that she is under illegal detention by her husband.
According to the Indian Express, the homeopathy doctor said in a video on Saturday that she has separated from her first husband Shafin Jahan and has remarried. “The Constitution has given the right for every person to enter into marriage and get out of the relationship. It is a common thing in society. I don’t understand why society is getting irritated in my case. I am a grown-up who is capable of making decisions. When I could not continue the marriage (with Jahan), I got out of it. Now, I have married another person of my choice. I am happy and living as a Muslim. My parents are also aware about the remarriage” she said, according to the report.
The video was released a day after her father K.M. Ashokan moved a habeas corpus petition in the Kerala high court alleging that he could not reach Hadiya over the phone and her homeopathy clinic was shut.
But Hadiya said on Saturday that she doesn’t know why her father moved the high court. She did not disclose details of her new partner, saying there was no need to make them public. She has moved to Thiruvananthapuram from Mallapuram, according to Indian Express.
According to Hindustan Times, she said her “father has created troubles making it difficult for me to live. There have been cyberattacks on me which has made my life difficult. My father has always been made a tool by the Sangh Parivar forces. It is sad that he is allowing himself to be used that way.”
Hadiya also denied the claims that her phone was switched off, stating instead that she was “in constant touch with her parents”. “I have remarried and I don’t think it needs to be a subject of discussion again. I am a mature adult who is capable of taking her own decisions,” she said.
Background
Born into a Hindu family in Kottayam, Hadiya said she was drawn to Islam when studying in Tamil Nadu. She converted to that faith and married Jahan. Her father filed a habeas corpus plea in 2016, challenging the marriage. The high court nullified the marriage and ordered her to be placed in the protective custody of her Hindu parents or an institution, so that she is “prevented from being a further victim of love jihad”. The judgment was perhaps the first time that a constitutional court used this term, a conspiracy theory that claims there is a plot to convert Hindu women to Islam through marriage.
The Supreme Court in March 2018 restored her marriage and allowed her to live with her husband Jahan. The top court allowed the National Investigation Agency (NIA) to probe the incident to see if she was forced to convert to Islam. The agency later closed the case, finding no evidence to support such a claim.
