Delhi Diary: Woman Faces Ordeal In India For Embracing Islam

By Shakir Husain Bernama's correspondent in New Delhi shares his take on the developments in the Indian Sub-Continent. NEW DELHI, Dec 4 (Bernama) -- A 24-year-old woman in India's Kerala state is facing an ordeal for embracing Islam and marrying a Muslim man. Hadiya, born in a Hindu family and known as Akhila Ashokan before she became a Muslim in 2016, has been told that she has been brainwashed and is a victim of a "love jihad" conspiracy. With her marriage now caught in a legal tangle at India's highest court, her story has turned into a public spectacle. Hadiya's hardships show how difficult it can be for a woman in India to make free choices about matters such as relationship and marriage. The Kerala High Court in May annulled her marriage to 26-year-old Shafin Jahan after her father complained to the police and filed a case. Her family alleges that she "does not have an independent mind”. The court put Hadiya under her family's custody and she was barred from contacting outsiders without her father's permission. Her family alleged that she was forced to convert to Islam and was recruited for terror. India's National Investigation Agency (NIA) got involved in the case and interrogated her husband, who says the couple's love marriage has been turned into a national legal battle. In a video, made while she was confined to her home, Hadiya made a plea for help. "I want to get out of here. I am being harassed, they'll kill me. My father is brutally beating me up," she said. The case has reached India's apex court, which gave Hadiya a release from her domestic detention but not the "freedom" she had asked for. Hadiya told the Supreme Court in New Delhi on Nov 27 that she understood what she was doing and wanted the freedom to profess her faith and live with her husband. The woman was asked about her life, aspirations, studies and hobbies in the court. After the hearing, the court allowed her to continue her studies in Tamil Nadu and appointed the college dean as her "local guardian." She rejected an offer of state financial help to pursue her studies, saying her husband would take care of her. Hadiya is wondering if the college would prove to be another prison for her. She told reporters after joining the college: "I asked for freedom. Though the court allowed me to complete my studies I am yet to get my freedom. I am demanding the basic right every citizen enjoys in the country." The contentious debate over the case may have a bearing on Kerala's inter-community relations, which are generally better than the northern and western states of India. The Hindu right-wing groups opposed to interfaith marriages involving Muslims have called Hadiya's marriage a case of "love jihad". Many have criticised the court-appointed guardianship as an infringement of her autonomy. Questions have also been raised about individual rights guaranteed under the constitution. Prashant Bhusan, one of India's top lawyers, in comments on Twitter praised Hadiya for "holding out under such immense pressure" but he said it was "amazing" that the Supreme Court did not set her free to live her own life. One media commentator compared her case to the recurring storyline in Indian movies in which the female lead would face extreme family pressures, even violence if she didn't choose a partner of their choice. -- BERNAMA