06-29-2005, 05:50 PM
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--><b>Imrana case: Mulayam backs clerics' decision </b>
NDTV Correspondent
Wednesday, June 29, 2005 (Muzzafarnagar):
<b>In a controversial statement, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav today virtually defended the fatwa issued by Islamic clerics in the Imrana rape case.
Yadav said the order against Imrana must have been a well-thought out decision by religious leaders.</b>
"The government will not interfere in the case till we have more details. The leaders after all are very learned," he said.
Earlier this month, Imrana, a Muslim woman, was allegedly raped by her father-in-law.
After the incident, the local community leaders, as well as religious leaders, said she should separate from her husband and move in with her father-in law.
Protests against fatwa
Women activists in Muzzafarnagar today held protests against the fatwa that refuses Imrana the permission to stay with her husband because she was raped by her father-in-law.
The All India Muslim Personal Law Board has also refused to overturn the local fatwa.
The UP women's commission had written to Yadav, requesting his intervention in granting Imrana permission to stay with her husband.
They have also demanded stern action against her father-in-law, who has been arrested and refused bail.
Political tone
The case is becoming far more political, with CPM General Secretary Prakash Karat also stepping in with criticism of the fatwa.
"The act of barbarity that was committed on a woman from Muzaffarnagar is very deplorable. In our country the guilty should be punished and justice given to the deserving. But this has not happened in the case," he said.
He added that the law of the land should prevail over personal laws if women's rights have to be protected. <!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
NDTV Correspondent
Wednesday, June 29, 2005 (Muzzafarnagar):
<b>In a controversial statement, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav today virtually defended the fatwa issued by Islamic clerics in the Imrana rape case.
Yadav said the order against Imrana must have been a well-thought out decision by religious leaders.</b>
"The government will not interfere in the case till we have more details. The leaders after all are very learned," he said.
Earlier this month, Imrana, a Muslim woman, was allegedly raped by her father-in-law.
After the incident, the local community leaders, as well as religious leaders, said she should separate from her husband and move in with her father-in law.
Protests against fatwa
Women activists in Muzzafarnagar today held protests against the fatwa that refuses Imrana the permission to stay with her husband because she was raped by her father-in-law.
The All India Muslim Personal Law Board has also refused to overturn the local fatwa.
The UP women's commission had written to Yadav, requesting his intervention in granting Imrana permission to stay with her husband.
They have also demanded stern action against her father-in-law, who has been arrested and refused bail.
Political tone
The case is becoming far more political, with CPM General Secretary Prakash Karat also stepping in with criticism of the fatwa.
"The act of barbarity that was committed on a woman from Muzaffarnagar is very deplorable. In our country the guilty should be punished and justice given to the deserving. But this has not happened in the case," he said.
He added that the law of the land should prevail over personal laws if women's rights have to be protected. <!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->