Hadiya or Akhila Ashokan, the Hindu woman confined to her parents’ house after her marriage to a Muslim man was annulled by the Kerala High Court, is seen in a new video pleading with an activist to help her get out.
“You need to get me out. I will be killed anytime, tomorrow or the day after, I am sure,” Hadiya said in the video, The News Minute reported on Thursday. “I know my father is getting angry. When I walk, he is hitting and kicking me. If my head or any other part of my body hits somewhere and I die...” The video was shot on August 17 by activist Rahul Easwar.
Hours after the video was released, Hadiya’s husband Shafin Jahan asked Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan to intervene. He wrote to Vijayan, saying Hadiya’s rights were being violated, India Today reported. Hadiya’s father, however, dismissed her concerns. “Nothing has happened to her so far...” Ashokan KM told NDTV.
The activist, Easwar, said he only released a part of the video, but would hand over the rest of the footage to the court. The next hearing in the Supreme Court is on October 30.
The Kerala High Court had annulled Hadiya’s marriage to Jahan in May, acting on a petition filed by her father in 2016. Hadiya’s father had told the court that he felt Muslim organisations planned to take her abroad and make her join the Islamic State group. He also claimed that Jahan was involved in terror activities. The court had ordered Hadiya to be placed under her parents’ custody and she has been in her father’s house ever since.
In August, Jahan moved the Supreme Court against the High Court’s decision. The Supreme Court, however, ordered the National Investigation Agency to look into the case of the woman’s alleged conversion.
Weeks later, Justice Dipak Misra took over as chief justice of India from Justice JS Khehar. On October 3, the Supreme Court bench, this time led by Chief Justice Misra, changed its stance by questioning the NIA investigation. Misra said the Kerala High Court had no authority to annul the marriage. The court also asked if the father can question the rights of his 24-year-old daughter.
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