British woman traces her husband to Kerala, divorces him after two years legal battle

Source:- indianexpress.com

A 34-year-old British woman has divorced her Indian husband after a two-year legal battle that started when she traced him to Kerala, where he had returned to his village after deserting her. Mariyam Khaliq, the British woman of Pakistani origin, had befriended Kunnumbath Noushad Hussain, 34, on Facebook while he was studying in Scotland. The couple tied the knot after an 18-month courtship in April 2013. They stayed together for a year before Hussain deserted her. He had left her saying he would return after convincing his parents about their marriage. “I do not know what was on his mind. He had promised to take me to Kerala and marry me as per rituals,’’ she said. Hussain allegedly stopped taking Khaliq’s calls after some time and ignored her messages and blocked her on social media too. “My love towards him was genuine and I was shattered,’’ she added.

Khaliq did not give up. She tracked Hussain down in Kerala, where she sought help from Snehitha helpline. “I had little details about Hussain. The only information I had about my husband was that he hailed from Akalad near Chavakkad,’’ she said. “He had given me a photograph of his house along with its huge gate. I sent that photograph to Snehitha activists.’’ Lawyers Sudha Haridas and Mohammed Ismail helped Khaliq. “We went to Hussain’s house at Chavakkad. He was indifferent and feigned ignorance about Khaliq and the marriage,’’ said Haridas. Hussain claimed that Khaliq was not even his friend when she visited Chavakkad first in January 2015. Hussain’s indifference shattered Khaliq. She pulled herself together and filed a police complaint besides moving a local court that granted her residence order enabling her to stay at her husband’s house.

Khaliq alleged that Hussain’s family threatened her and used abusive language. They were unwilling to accept her as their daughter-in-law. “They tried to prevent me from returning to India again. Pointing out my Pakistan origin, they depicted me as a terrorist and even sought police help to spoil my plan to visit Chavakkad again.’’ She returned to Chavakkad again to force Hussain’s family to give in by accepting a settlement in October 2015. Hussain had by then married a Kerala woman and his family was willing to pay her compensation provided she returned with a divorce certificate and withdrew cases registered against them. “They were ready for a settlement only because of my stubborn stand. Despite their threats, I was not ready to go back,’’ said Khaliq, who soon returned to London to complete her divorce formalities.

On January 19, Khaliq arrived in Kerala for the third time after having her marriage nullified in London. “Since he had married another woman, there was little worth in fighting a bigamy case. Hence, we decided to go for an out-of-court settlement,’’ said Haridas. Khaliq, who would fly back to London next week, was paid alimony after she withdrew the cases. Hussain, who is now settled in Abu Dhabi, said that he had married Khaliq to get permanent residency visa. “I had gone to the UK on a two-year visa in 2010. When the term of my visa was nearing expiry, marriage was the only option to get it extended’’ He claimed to have told Khaliq that he did not want to live with her. “She took the relationship seriously. I had no other option but to escape. To wriggle out of the relation, I told her that I wanted to go to Kerala to meet my family. On reaching here, I told her that I do not want to return.’’