Ishrat Jahan, one of the five petitioners in the landmark Supreme Court verdict which pronounced instant triple talaq invalid, joined the BJP yesterday in Howrah. Recently, the Lok Sabha has passed the Triple Talaq Bill which criminalises Triple Talaq. Jahan said she joined the BJP since it supported the cause she was fighting for.
Jahan had faced social boycott and character assassination in Howrah after the Supreme Court verdict invalidating instant triple talaq. Jahan was also being ostracised by her in-laws and neighbours in Howrah’s Pilkhana.
30 year old Jahan’s husband divorced her in 2015 from Dubai, over the phone and allegedly took away her 4 children. Thankfully, the children, who were allegedly taken to Ishrat’s husband’s relative’s place were later on traced by Kolkata Police. In her fight for social justice, she has faced financial losses and now she has to face abuses as she is called “dirty woman”, “enemy of men” and “anti-Islam”.
She had written a letter to West Bengal Chief Minister accusing the West Bengal Police of not providing enough safety and security to her. A copy of the letter was also sent to Vice President M. Venkaiah Naidu, West Bengal Governor K.N. Tripathi, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, the chairperson of National Commission for Women Lalitha Kumaramangalam and Howrah Police Commissionerate, among others.
TMC leaders Siddiqullah Chowdhary and Idris Ali had allegedly used derogatory words for Ishrat after the triple talaq verdict. The leaders, however, maintained that they had only voiced their opinion criticising the Supreme Court’s verdict and had not used abusive language for Ishrat.
The party leadership had since asked the TMC leaders to not voice any of their opinion on this subject matter without keeping the leadership in the loop.
In 2001, when Ishrat was 14, she was married in Bihar, where she and her husband lived before shifting to Pilkhana in Howrah. She was one of the five petitioners who filed a petition in the Supreme Court against triple talaq.
Since the August verdict, Ishrat has removed the naqab and shown her face to the world. “I realised that I am not a victim anymore. I want other women to see me and understand that if an ordinary woman like me can fight for her rights, so can they,” said Jahan, reported Times of India explaining the reason why she decide to remove her naqab.
Jahan had added that just a court verdict will not change anything unless the society and community brings about a change where people help a vulnerable and helpless victim instead of assassinating her character. She said instead of coming out in support of her, people had mocked and ridiculed her for standing up for justice.
