Mustafa Haji
Kargil is one of the two districts of Ladakh region. The other one is Leh. The last time Kargil was in the limelight was because of the Kargil war. Nowadays it has become a sought after place for its beautiful summer weather and the calm surroundings, which although very sporadic (lasting just for three months) are a good respite for the people who want to escape the heat elsewhere. Kargil is predominantly a Shia Muslim populated area with Buddhists and Sunni Muslims as minorities, whereas Leh is a Buddhist majority area with Sunnis and Shias as the minority population.
Kargil is fairly a harmonious society with very few issues at hand. It is not an exaggeration that Kargil was considered a crime free society at one point of time. It has also been in the news for having the least number of FIRs in the recent years. Today also, the number of cases which are pending in the courts are barely in hundreds. The District Court in Kargil for instance, has barely 150 odd cases. This, for a population of around 1.30 plus lakh people is a very miniscule number. There are places in Kargil, such as Chiktan area, which have not had a single case of FIR filed in last many years. It is a good sign that the crime rate in Ladakh is also quite minimal, which is further a good indicator of the nature of the people living here.
All appears good with Kargil except when we take a close look at the number of cases related to matrimonial affairs, especially divorce. A very strange and a unique picture comes forward when we look at the number of women who have been made vulnerable as a result of arbitrary divorces by their partners. Cases related to divorce and maintenance in Kargil are the highest as compared to any other place in Jammu and Kashmir. In fact, out of the total number of cases filed before the lower courts as well as the district court, divorce related cases amount to the highest. There are several cases which can be looked at, in order to get a picture of the nature of cases before the district court.
Zakia Banoo Case ( Name changed )
Zakia is the oldest of the divorcees. She had been married for thirty years and has had nine kids out of her wedlock. Out of the nine children only two have survived.
At her age when women, and even men, normally spend all their time worrying about bodily ailments, weakened bodies, and which medicine to choose and to consume at what time, she had to undergo a divorce. She has a kidney problem as well, but that is not her concern anymore. She is more worried about what her husband is up to and whether she will ever get to live the rest of her life with her kids, who live with their father now.
An angusihed Zakia spends her days longing for a glimpse of her children and the grandson through the window of the house next to her husband’s. She has deliberately chosen to stay here because her own house is 2 kms away from here. She had requested the owners to let her stay here and they have out of their kindness, let her in. She does the dishes and other small households chores in lieu of a rent. She has been divorced for two years and yet the most haunting part is, she is not even sure of whether she has been divorced properly. She had gone to graze the cow one fine day and when she came back, she found her husband at the house gate waiting for her to leave his house forever. An old woman of 60 plus age, Zakia would have never dreamt in her wildest dreams that she would be subjected to such a cruelty one day. She says she did not even know how to respond to that moment. She could not believe her stars and kept requesting her husband to be a little considerate and let her in, but the house where she had spent 30 years had been locked for her forever. On being threatened to get beaten up, she remembers fainting near a water tap next to her house for an hour, with her eyes swollen due to the sudden burst of tears. Thereafter, her only memory is getting on a truck which was headed to Kargil city. She says she didn’t even want to come to the court in the first place but was asked by people to seek the help of the court once she got off the truck. The next thing she remembers is narrating her story to a lawyer, Mr. Manzoor. Her husband has had two more wives before her and she was not even told about the later one, yet she had made peace with her husband.
The reason why her husband wants to divorce her now is because he has found another wife and even has a kid with her clandestinely. Zakia’s case has been going on for two years in the district court but the court has not been able to grant her a single penny as maintenance. Her husband has been produced before the court but he has been very adamant on not paying any maintenance to her whatsoever. She weeps and tries to hide her tears at the same time while she narrates all of this to me
Zarina (Name Changed)
In this case Soqra’s husband has not seen her for almost 5 years and it appears that he has married someone else in between, but has not divorced Soqra at the same time. He is asking for a sum of 5 lakhs in order to grant her divorce. Soqra has not married anyone else in these years and nor does she consider herself a divorcee. She spends her days in between being a single mother and a half widow. She does not know whether she should be worried about her husband having married someone else or giving in for these unreasonable demands.
Zubeda Banoo (Name changed)
She has been abandoned by her husband without even having any reasons, but that does not worry her because she herself does not want to stay with him anymore. All she wants now is some maintenance to take care of her children who she has been taking care of.
There are various other similar cases which narrate the tales of women who have been left vulnerable by their husbands. There are cases of instantaneous divorces and divorce on very trivial issues and often due to men finding other women. The concept of divorce has been given a very flexible narrative in order to suit the needs of the men of the society. It is also interesting to understand that women often find themselves reluctant in going to the courts and those of who muster courage to go to court often have to run pillar to post to find speedy justice.
A need for introspection by the court
The Domestic Violence Act as well as the maintenance of women under section 125 of the Criminal Procedure Code are formed on the premise that a speedy relief is granted to women in distress. These provisions have always been considered as saving graces for the women who are left helpless due to the acts of their husbands. The prima facie rationale for having a provision for interim relief within these laws is only to come to the rescue of the women instantaneously. However, granting interim relief has become a rare practice in the District Courts. Zakia’s case for instance, has been going on for two years but she has not been given any maintenance as yet. Similarly, there are many cases where the courts have failed to give any interim relief to the women who knock the doors of the court as their last resort. It is also very pertinent to know that the compliance of the court orders is also very slow.
A place such as Kargil, where women related cases form the major part of litigation, the court should keep an extra vigil upon these cases. Given the patriarchal as well as the religious nature of the society, and the complicated conjugal vicious circles women often find themselves in; it is the duty of the courts to save these women. The need for the courts to look into the grievances of these women and saving the rule of law from arbitrary customs simultaneously is very cardinal as well as urgent.
(The author is a lawyer, J&K High Court)
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