Hadiya, who is at the centre of a religious conversion case, on Wednesday said she felt she was still not free despite the Supreme Court’s order allowing her to continue her studies in Tamil Nadu.
Hadiya’s conversion from Hinduism to Islam and her marriage to a Muslim man led to a controversy and allegations of forced conversion. Her father had approached the Kerala High Court alleging that Muslim organisations planned to make her join the Islamic State group, and that her husband Shafin Jahan was involved in terror activities. Jahan had moved the Supreme Court had moved the Supreme Court against the Kerala High Court order that annulled their marriage and asked that Hadiya be sent to her parents.
The top court on Monday had ruled that Hadiya, who is from Kerala, could finish her course at Sivaraj Homeopathic Medical College in Salem and that she should live at the college hostel for the entire duration of her course.
Hadiya told journalists outside the college on Wednesday: “I asked for freedom from court. I wanted to meet my husband, but the fact is that I am not free till now and that is the truth.”
Hadiya said she hoped her college will not turn out to be a prison for her. She also said that she did not have a phone and could not contact anyone. There was no clarity over the court order and her boundaries, she said. “We should give them [college authorities] few more days, and I will be able to tell you whether I am really free or not,” she said. “I am demanding basic rights that every Indian citizen has. It has nothing to do with politics or caste. All I want is to talk to people I like.”
College principal G Kannan on Tuesday had said that Hadiya will be enrolled as Akhila Ashokan – the name she had before she converted to Islam. Kannan said Hadiya would be treated like any other student, but said no one except her parents will be allowed to meet her.
Deputy Commissioner of Police Subbulakshmi, who met the college administration, had said that adequate police protection would be provided to Hadiya, who had arrived at the college around 7 pm on Tuesday.
“The court has not given anyone guardianship, including Shafin Jahan [her husband], of my child,” PTI quoted Hadiya’s father Ashokan as saying on Tuesday.
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