Hadiya, Woman At Centre Of Kerala Conversion Controversy, Says She Has Remarried

Hadiya, whose conversion to Islam and marriage to a man from the faith had created a furore in Kerala in 2017, has got separated from Shefin Jahan and remarried.

Hadiya, a homeopathy doctor, said in a video on Saturday (9 December) that she has separated from her husband and remarried a person of her choice.

“The Constitution has given the right for every person to enter into marriage and get out of the relationship. It is a common thing in society. I don’t understand why society is getting irritated in my case. I am a grown-up who is capable of making decisions. When I could not continue the marriage (with Jahan), I got out of it. Now, I have married another person of my choice. I am happy and living as a Muslim," Hadiya said, Indian Express reported.

She further claimed that her parents were also "aware about the remarriage".

Hadiya's video comes after her father on Friday (8 December) filed a habeas corpus petition in the Kerala High Court, claiming he could not trace his daughter, but Hadiya clarified in the video that she is well and has chosen not to disclose details about her new life partner.

The High Court will consider the plea next week.

After her divorce, Hadiya moved from Malappuram district, where she ran a clinic, to Thiruvananthapuram.

Hadiya, who was born and brought as K M Akhila in a Hindu family in Kottayam,  converted to Islam for marriage.

In 2018, the Supreme Court permitted Hadiya to live with her husband, Shafin Jahan, overturning a Kerala High Court Division Bench's order that had annulled their marriage.