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A historic order. On Women’s Day, that too!
A great move towards women’s freedom of choice. A fantastic step in favour of inter-religious marriages. A slap in the face of ‘Love Jihad’. More power to Hadiya!
Hadiya has been in and out of the courts, seeking justice, for two years now.
Better late than never, right? Wrong.
Before we begin to applaud the Supreme Court for upholding Hadiya’s right to live with her husband — a welcome move, no doubt — let’s pause and reflect.
Hadiya, a 25-year-old woman studying medical sciences converted to Islam out of her own volition and later married a Muslim man on (guess what!) her own will.
On 8 March 2018 — which happens to be International Women’s Day — the SC bench, headed by CJI Dipak Misra, reiterated exactly the above stated facts (as reported by Bar and Bench). “Hadiya alias Akhila Asokan is at liberty to pursue her future endeavours according to law,” the SC said.
Everyone wanted a slice of this meaty story. Aur aisa kyun na ho [and why won’t it be], Hadiya’s story brings out some of our (I would say ‘society’s’, but we are nothing if not constituent parts of it) greatest fears.
These are not just fears, they are also our greatest challenges as a society.
On this Women’s day, Hadiya walks free — a conditional freedom (of course!) since the apex court has directed the NIA to continue their probe regarding the alleged ‘Love Jihad’. This freedom, however, should have been her right all along.
Two years might appear to some as quick when it comes to the Indian judicial system where cases eat dust for years and years, but two years is a long time in the life of a person.
So, forgive me if instead of applause, I can only offer a sarcastic clap.
Hadiya’s case is an important step in the long and ongoing battle for women’s rights in India. Let the conversation not cease at Hadiya but extend to unreported cases of injustice as well as to our social attitudes.
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Published: 08 Mar 2018,09:43 PM IST