By Siddhant Mohan, TwoCircles.net
It has been a week since Supreme Court of India passed a historic judgment abolishing the triple talaq practice within the Indian Muslim community.
But as the decision has brought joy and dissent within the society, it has also brought fear among those petitioners who have contested this case in the apex court.
Afreen Rahman, 28, is one of the petitioners from Rajasthan, has already received good wishes from her friends and relatives. Rahman told TwoCircles.net, “I have not received any threats so far, but yes, people around me are constantly warning me to be attentive to such things.”
“Wherever I go, people are making me aware. May be because I have been vocal among all the petitioners of the case,” added Rahman.
Rahman lives in Vaishali Nagar area of Jaipur, which is considerably posh and calm, but still, she is attentive when she goes out. “You don’t know if someone is following you for what purpose.”
Rahman’s close aid and Jaipur convener of Bhartiya Muslim Mahila Andolan (BMMA) Naseem Akhtar is facing the same fear, as she lives in Muslim dominated locality of Jaipur.
She told, “Apart from the close ones I know, some random people come to me and suggest me to be attentive.”
Akhtar is not taking the caution signs in a serious manner, because she has to carry out her works. “The caution signs came to me more than the congratulatory remarks. Now, I have limited my field activities to an extent. But I do not know what will happen if I decide to go out one day,” she claimed.
Akhtar’s another concern is that she might be getting targeted as the people label her organization and her affiliation with Muslim Rashtriya Manch, a Rashtriya Swyamsevak Sangh outfit headed by Samjhauta Express blast accused Indresh Kumar.
“They think this because of the Hindi name of our organization BMMA. But we have no affiliation with RSS or MRM. I am used to their remarks of being ‘RSS agent’,” tells Akhtar.
Akhtar confirms that in the past there were faint attempts from Muslim Rashtriya Manch for an alliance with BMMA.
But the threats seem to real for 31-year-old petitioner Ishrat Jahan, who lives in Pilkhana locality of Howrah in West Bengal.
Jahan has received threats from her neighbors and in-laws soon after the Supreme Court ruled to abolish the Talaq-e-Biddat practice.
“My son and my daughter now live in fear. People are threatening me of social boycott and passing comments when I go out of where I live,” said Jahan.
However, things are not good for Jahan from inside her house too. She lives with her sister-in-law, and she has asked Jahan to leave the house.
Jahan has asked state chief minister Mamta Banerjee for protection, as Jahan has no job and no place for shelter.
For founder and National convener of BMMA Zakia Soman, the things are not less derogatory. Soman said, “We have stood against a patriarchal setup, which was not even mentioned in Quran. So other patriarchal powers like personal law board cannot see us defending and fighting for gender justice and equality.”
“That is why they are accusing us of being anti-Islamic. Accusations of being an RSS agent is also there, which comes very often. Now they have started accusing us of being Jewish agents,” added Soman.
Social media platforms are circulating pictures of Soman and her family members, labeling them of being enemies of Islam. According to the reports, her son’s friend told him that his family was not Islamic. But with all the false accusations, Soman lives with the good wishes and supporters as she said, “Mailbox and phone inbox is getting filled with the cheer and congratulatory messages. That is what keeps us driving forward.”