CHARMINAR: A 23-year-old woman,
Saira Banu, from Old City who was allegedly sold to a sheikh in Saudi Arabia by her husband, claimed that her husband Omer had pronounced
oral triple talaq
before he took her to a qazi to formalize it.
“I refused to give him divorce but he forcibly took me to the qazi. I know where the qazi lives which is in Golconda,“ Saira Banu said in a voice message sent to her family in the city.
“When he threatened that he would harm my two-year-old daughter if I did not agree for the divorce, I gave in. I had been suffering at his hands for a long time,“ Saira Banu said in a
series of WhatsApp messages
to her family . “We are yet to get the papers,“ she said.
Saira Banu said just a few days before her departure, her husband forced her to accompany her to the qazi.
A report was carried on May 28 about Saira Banu's plight in Saudi Arabia. Her mother Banu Begum had approached the
Shah Ali Banda police
alleging that her daughter was sold off to a Saudi sheikh for Rs 5 lakh by her husband who lives in Hyderabad. She also alleged when she contacted her husband about her travails in Saudi, he reportedly told her that she was no longer his wife. Interestingly , the husband Omer provided to the police a copy of the khulla to show Saira Banu herself had divorced him. The document given by the qazi was given to the police in his defence.
When the woman gives divorce, it is called khulla.“When we went to the qazi, my husband said I would have to give him khulla and it would not be talaq initiated by him,“ Saira Banu said in a voice message.
A sobbing Saira Banu said, “He told me that if I gave khulla, he would re-marry me when I return from Saudi after two years“. As per Islamic Sharia, a woman can remarry the same person if the initiative for divorce was from her side. She said since Omer told her that, she agreed for a khulla.
Saira banu's brother Moiunuddin also went to the qazi on Monday to give him a copy of the talaq or khulla. “The qazi said it was khulla and he asked us to come back on Tuesday for the copy,“ Moinuddin said. “I can read Urdu so I will be able to understand what was written in the document that the qazi would give me,“ Moinuddin said.
In the latest voice message received from Saira Banu, she said those who have employed her had threatened her that she would not be allowed to go back to India. “I have been deceived into coming to Saudi Arabia by my husband and mother-in-law. I want to return to India,“ Saira Banu said.
Saira Banu also recalled that her marriage with Omer had been tumultuous. She said that though initially she was happy, she soon began to suffer torture at his hands. “I would not be given food,“ she said.
Sushil Rao is Editor-Special Reports, at The Times of India, Hyde...
Read MoreSushil Rao is Editor-Special Reports, at The Times of India, Hyderabad. He began his journalism career at the age of 20 in 1988. He is a gold medalist in journalism from the Department of Communication and Journalism, Arts College, Osmania University, Hyderabad from where he did his post-graduation from. He has been with The Times of India’s Hyderabad edition since its launch in 2000. He has also done an introductory course in film studies from the Film and Television Institute of India, Pune, and also from the Central University of Kerala equipping himself with the knowledge of filmmaking for film criticism. He has authored four books. In his career spanning 34 years, he has worked for five newspapers and has also done television reporting. He was also a web journalist during internet’s infancy in the mid 1990s in India. He covers defence, politics, diaspora, innovation, administration, the film industry, Hyderabad city and Telangana state, and human interest stories. He is also a podcaster, blogger, does video reporting and makes documentaries.
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