‘This movie can create awareness about the deceptive ways of conversion rackets’ says Hadiya’s father

Kochi:  Ashokan, father of Akhila (Hadiya) has welcomed the Bollywood movie ‘The Kerala Story’. Ashokan said that films like these can create awareness among girls  and their parents about the deceptive ways of conversion rackets. Films like these will help to curb such activities in the future.

The film released on this Friday has ignited controversy in Kerala. The film tells the story of three women who were trafficked to Syria after converting to Islam.

Akhila converted to Islam and married a Muslim named Shafin Jahan. Ashokan had accused that his daughter was allegedly indoctrinated and converted to Islam. The issue had been a hot topic in the state and invited large media attention then.

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The Supreme Court had then ruled Hadiya’s right to embrace Islam and marry a Muslim. Hadiya now lives as a homeopathic doctor in Kottakkal, Malappuram  district.

Now in an interview given to The New Indian Express, Ashokan accused that his daughter is now under the control of Zainaba, a Popular Front of India (PFI) activist. He is planning to approach the court seeking direction to the National Investigation Agency  (NIA) to investigate Zainaba’s activities, who claims to have converted 5,000 women. He believes He also said that Hadiya has sent divorce papers to Jahan.

 

‘Shafin left her immediately after the Supreme Court ruled in his favour. I have never met him since 2018. Whenever I  visited her, she was surrounded by Zainaba and her people who never allowed me to talk to her in private. The last visit was after the raids on PFI leaders’ houses.  Though she was alone, she was trembling with fear. I asked her the reason, but she didn’t reply. And, she refused to return home,’ Ashokan told in the interview.

Ashokan also urged  religious organisations to train counsellors and deploy them to impart values among children  to help them escape such conversion rackets that alienate children from their parents. He also said that politicians who talk about the fundamental rights of young women being lured away by Muslim youths, will never understand the pain of those who have lost their children.

‘ Yes ,I am an atheist, but I never stopped my wife and daughter from visiting temples. I agree that lack of spirituality made it easy for the extremists to indoctrinate and convert Akhila. But Christian girls who grow in faith are also being trapped. After embracing Islam, Akhila had once told me that she was  planning to go to Syria to graze goats,’ said Ashokan.