Forced to undergo six abortions, says triple talaq challenger Shayara Bano

NAINITAL: Shayara Bano, who catapulted into national headlines with her petition in the Supreme Court questioning the legality of triple talaq, told TOI here on Monday that she was forced to go to the SC against all odds because she could "no longer bear the ordeal". The 37-year-old post graduate in sociology from Kashipur in Udham Singh Nagar district, said she just wants "justice and move on with my life."

Alleging that she was made to undergo as many as six abortions by her husband who forcibly administered her pills which ruined her health, the mother of two said she longed to be with her children who are still with her husband.

Bano's husband, Rizwan Ahmed, had summarily posted a 'talaqnama' to her in October, which led to her taking recourse to the judiciary to get the triple talaq or talaq-e-bidat (verbal pronouncement of talaq) declared illegal. The case grabbed attention when the SC last month admitted her petition seeking triple talaq be declared unconstitutional.

The apex court had also initiated suo motu proceedings to examine the need for protecting the rights of all Muslim women. The All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB), which is a party to the case, has decided to contest any move to scrap the triple talaq, setting the stage for a confrontation on this sensitive issue.

As she gets ready for a long legal battle, Bano said, "There will come a time when triple talaq will be banned in India. When this happens, millions of women will be liberated from the fear that they are cruelly subjected to," she said.