Ayesha Ansari

Bareilly: A 25-year-old woman who was given instant triple talaq twice and is now under pressure to undergo halala said she will approach the National Commission for Women and Prime Minister Narendra Modi for help.

Ayesha Ansari was married to Faheem Alam, a kite artisan, in 2011. The couple has two children aged six and three years. “My husband and in-laws used to torture me for dowry. When he was going to Saudi Arabia to work as a taxi driver in 2012, his family put pressure on me to give them Rs 1 lakh. They would always beat me. Faheem returned from Saudi in 2014 but his family kept on demanding money. In July 2014, he pronounced instant triple talaq and I returned to my parents’ home in Zakhira area,” Ayesha told the media here on Monday.

“However, after he divorced me, he told me that he is ready to take me back but I will have to undergo halala. As I was totally against halala, he remarried me four days after giving talaq and without halala. However, to my shock, he again gave me triple talaq three days after our second marriage. Faheem said he gave me a divorce as our second marriage happened without halala. He along with his other family members then threw me out of the house,” said Ayesha.

She had lodged a case of dowry against Faheem and his family in August 2014 and the matter is now sub-judice.

“Faheem now fears that he will have to give maintenance to me and that is why he has been asking me to remarry him. He has been putting pressure on me to undergo halala with my brother-in-law so that I can later marry Faheem. However, as he has already played with my life twice, I do not trust him. I will write to PM Modi and the NCW on Tuesday to seek action against Faheem.”

Farhat Naqvi, president, Mera Haq Foundation, an NGO which is helping Ayesha in her fight, said, “In Islam, three marriages with the same man is not allowed. Even halala with a close relative is prohibited. We will fight against people who have made a mockery of marriage and halala.”

However, Faheem denied the allegations leveled by Ayesha. He claimed, “I had earlier asked her for halala but after she raised objection to it. I told her that I am ready to take her back. However, her mother wants me to give her Rs 5 lakh for a compromise, which I cannot afford.”

