I cannot tell you what Hadiya told me: NCW chairperson

New Delhi, Nov 6: Rekha Sharma, chairperson of the National Commission for Women (NCW), on Monday met 24-year-old Hadiya, who had converted to Islam and married a Muslim man, weeks after a video emerged in which she pleaded to be rescued from her parental home in Vaikkom.

Sharma told reporters outside Hadiya’s home that she is in ‘good health’ and that she seemed happy. “I just met Akhila, Hadiya, whatever you call her. NCW was concerned about her well-being. She is in good health. She is not beaten up. She is eating her food and she was smiling,” Sharma told the media.

“She was happy. I cannot tell you what she told me because the case is in the court. Healthwise and security, she is okay. Her security is under no threat. She said she was okay and that she is waiting for 27th,” she added.

Hadiya, who had converted to Islam, has been asked by the Supreme Court to appear before it on November 27. The case of her conversion and marriage to a Muslim man is being heard in the top court.

The NCW chairperson said she will ‘use the word forced conversion’ instead of ‘love jihad.’ She is expected to submit a report on the situation of Hadiya’s security and safety after her return to New Delhi.

In an incomplete video purportedly taken in August and released to the media by social activist Rahul Eashwar, Hadiya had alleged that she was beaten by her father Asokan and begged for help. However, her remarks to the NCW chairperson today is in contrast to what she said in the video.

The state women’s rights commission had earlier sought the permission of the apex court to visit Hadiya at her residence in Vaikkom.

The Supreme Court last month had said that it could consider the contention of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) and Hadiya’s father, that she had been indoctrinated by radical groups and her consent was not free, only after it had talked to her.

Hadiya’s marriage to Shefin Jahan was annulled by the Kerala High Court on May 28 and her custody was entrusted to her parents.