‘Harassed by family, community for wearing saffron veil’, says UP woman

Kanpur, Dec 26 (IANS) A Muslim woman in Uttar Pradesh’s Kanpur was harassed and humiliated by her family and community for wearing a saffron stole over her naqab (veil).

The woman, who had visited the police commissioner’s office with a saffron ‘dupatta’ covering her headscarf, told reporters, “I had gone to meet the Chief Minister with concerns about harassment and property conflict. However, many people told me that I am now a Hindu and hence, as per Sharia, I am not eligible for any assistance.”

The victim, from the Moolganj area, informed the chief minister about her predicament on December 23 while wearing the saffron dupatta. She said that her brothers wanted to evict her from the house due to a property dispute.

She had reported the matter to the authorities in 2022. She then visited Yogi Adityanath, after which the police intervened. The photograph of the meeting with the chief minister went viral, creating problems for her.

Her brothers stopped giving her food, took all her belongings, including sweaters and blankets, and left her to fend for herself in the winter with just her dupatta.

She said that she was mocked for wearing the stole.

Her brothers threw her out of the house after assaulting her, and she is currently living with her mother. Additionally, everything their father left behind, including the property, cash, and jewellery, was transferred into their names by her brothers.

The city cleric Abdul Quddus Haji initially promised to help her. However, when she visited him, he claimed that she had converted to Hinduism after meeting with the chief minister in saffron.

He ordered her to leave the place, hurling abuses at her and shooing her away when she pleaded for help to survive.

Furthermore, the meagre assistance from her brothers was also discontinued. She was supposed to receive Rs 3,000 and Rs 2,000 from her two brothers, respectively, along with the fulfillment of her basic requirements like food and clothes.

Following the incident, she complained to Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind’s national president Arshad Madani and protested about the same, but he brushed her off, alleging that the city clergy would take care of this since it was a local problem.

The woman submitted a report to the police commissioner’s staff officer Ashok Kumar Singh, who said “The woman and her brothers are already at odds. She has complained about it many times. The police have registered an FIR and taken action.”

Meanwhile, the cleric has alleged that the accusations against him are false. “How can I even think of stopping her from going to meet the chief minister,” he asked.

–IANS

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