Three Cheers

From getting her husband arrested for triple talaq to contesting elections, BJP’s new poster-girl Ishrat Jahan has her priorities straight

- Rabi Banerjee

When I met Ishrat Jahan at the West Bengal state headquarters of the BJP in North Kolkata’s Murlidhar Street, I could sense anger in her eyes. One of the five petitioners in the triple talaq case, she still seemed to be in a combative mood. But when I asked her whether she was willing to talk, Ishrat appeared happy to do so, although she looked around quickly to check whether anyone in the party office had any objection.

Ishrat, who joined the BJP in December, is a self-confessed fan of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. “Had there been a prime minister like him three decades ago, Shah Bano would not have suffered,” she said, referring to one of the pioneers who fought for the rights of Muslim women. “The Muslim community should be grateful for a prime minister like Modi.” After a five-judge Constitution bench of the Supreme Court ruled instant triple talaq to be null and void, the Modi government introduced a bill in Parliament making it a criminal offence punishable by three years of imprisonment. The bill was passed by the Lok Sabha on December 28.

Ishrat, who is from Munger in Bihar, got married in 2001 to Murtaza Ansari. The Ansaris moved to Howrah in 2006 for business purposes. Murtaza later went to Dubai, leaving behind Ishrat and their four children (three daughters and a son). In April 2015, he divorced her over phone, saying talaq thrice.

“I was beaten up several times. I suffered everything to save my marriage. But when he pronounced triple talaq, I felt I should fight back,” said Ishrat. Following the divorce, her in-laws forced Ishrat to leave home. She considered returning to her parents’ home in Munger or moving to Kuwait to join her sister Nazia Parveen. Finally, she chose to stay back and fight after Nazia offered her financial and moral support. Ishrat thus became one of the five women to mount a legal challenge against triple talaq.