Hadiya: Want to meet my husband, but I am still not free

Kerala ‘love jihad’: Hadiya’s decision to convert to Islam and marry her lover is at the centre of a legal debate over individual liberty.

Hadiya, the 24-year-old woman from Kerala whose decision to convert to Islam and marry her lover is at the centre of a legal debate over individual liberty, said on Wednesday that she is “not free”, renewing an appeal to be allowed to meet her husband.

Hadiya, inter-religious marriage, love jihad case, came to Salem Homoeopathy College, after the supreme court order to continue her studies, as her father alleged that she was forcibly converted to Islam, in Salem on Tuesday. (PTI Photo)

“I asked for freedom from court. I wanted to meet my husband but the fact is that I’m not free till now and that’s the truth,” she said, speaking to reporters.

“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”.

Hadiya deposed before the Supreme Court on Monday, where she told judges: “I want freedom… I want to complete my studies and live my life according to my faith and as a good citizen”.

The judges allowed her to go back to college — she had previously been in the custody of her parents who filed the court case against her marriage — but did not say anything about the couple being allowed to meet.

Hadiya has returned to her college in Tamil Nadu’s Salem.

Hadiya, born Akhila Ashokan, married Shafin Jahan without her family consent last December. Her father, retired military man Ashokan KM, approached the high court in May, alleging in his petition that there was a “well-oiled systematic mechanism” for conversion and Islamic radicalisation that trapped his daughter.

The Kerala HC struck down Hadiya and Shafin’s marriage, calling it a “sham”, but the husband moved the Supreme Court.