Voting for the BJP in the recent Uttar Pradesh assembly election cost a Muslim woman her marriage. Her parents-in-law assaulted her and kicked her out of the house. Her husband has threatened he would divorce her through the now-illegal means of talaq-e-biddat (triple talaq) and kill her brother if she complains to the police.
Uzma, daughter of Tahir Ansari, a resident of Ejaz Nagar Gautia, got married in January 2021 with Taslim Ansari of the same locality. This was a so-called love marriage albeit a Muslim one.
The victim says that she had voted for the BJP in the assembly election. Her husband’s maternal uncle Maulana Tayyab and brother-in-law Arif grilled the woman once she returned from the polling booth. They first asked her whom she had voted for. When the woman told them that she had voted for the BJP, they were livid. They assaulted her. They said her husband would divorce her for voting for the BJP. “We dare the BJP government to stop us,” the maulana threatened.
The victim’s father Tahir Ansari says he has modest means of livelihood and it will be difficult for him to care for the daughter once again. The woman was kicked out of the house of her father-in-law although the divorce has not happened yet.
The victim and her family have sought help from the police.
Maulana Shahabuddin Razvi, the national general secretary of Tanzeem Ulema-e-Islam, said it was a constitutional right of a citizen to vote for any political party. “Any man or woman can vote for any candidate or party. It is not right to look at this from a political point of view. If the relations-in-law or the husband is threatening divorce because the victim has voted for the BJP, it is wrong. They should apologize to the victim. If they do not do so, they will be guilty in the eyes of the Shariah,” the cleric said, explaining the Muslim law in the matter.
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