Amroha, Uttar Pradesh: A national-level netball player was divorced by her husband using triple talaq, the unilateral oral divorce granted to Muslim men by Islamic law, for giving birth to a girl child.
Shumayala Javed from Amroha, who has won several national championships, was married to Azam Abbasi, a resident of Lucknow's Gosaiganj area in 2014.
"On 9 February, 2014, I got married to Azam Abbasi. From the starting, my in-laws used to torture me for dowry. They used to exploit me. Every now and then, they used to ask for dowry from my father," she told ANI.
"In June 2014, my father gave them ₹2 lakh. For some time, they treated me well. My husband's sister even tried to put me on fire. In September, my father again deposited ₹1 lakh in their account," she said.
"When they learnt I was pregnant, they said they wanted a son and threatened me of dire consequences if I gave birth to a baby girl. They even conducted an ultrasound to know whether I was pregnant with a baby boy or a baby girl. When I was eight months pregnant, they dragged me out of their house," she added.
"When my daughter was born, they left me stranded. My father took me to my in-laws afterwards but they threatened him as well. My father left me there. But my in-laws kept abusing me, both and mentally. In April, my husband divorced me through triple talaq," she said. NDTV added that the divorce was given to her by her husband on the phone.
Javed alleged that no one, neither the police nor the administration, helped her.
She is left with no option now but to knock on the doors of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath demanding justice.
"I have written a letter to the Prime Minister and Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. I expect them to help me get justice. I urge the Prime Minister to help me in this grave situation. He should set an example for all such people, who divorce their wives through triple talaq," she said.
In his 'Mann ki Baat' radio broadcast, Prime Minister Modi dubbed triple talaq as a "bad social practice", saying such practices can be ended by social awakening. Thousands of women across India have formed pressure groups and spearheaded signature campaigns demanding the abolition of the practice too.
The All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) claims the sharia laws upholds the validity of triple talaq and has made clarified that it will not tolerate any interference in Islamic laws. The board also claimed the majority of Muslims in the country do not want any change in their personal law.
Recently, the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister had called for an end to the practice of triple talaq and invoked the disrobing of Draupadi in the Mahabharata to emphasise his point.
(With inputs from agencies.)
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