With marriages of young Muslim girls with aged Arabs haunt Hyderabad again I recollect stories written by me in 2005 which caught the attention of the world.
Here's the stories.
C.R. Gowri Shanker
Date: 24/08/2005
Hyderabad, Aug. 23: Two teenaged Hyderabad girls, who were married to a middle-aged Arab in a combined ceremony on August 1, gave him the slip a day after using the oldest trick in the book.
They escaped to the arms of their boyfriends in true Bollywood style after telling their Arab groom, the 45-year-old Al Rahama Ismail Mirza Abdul Jabbar of the UAE, that they wanted to go to the market to buy lipstick.
The girls, close friends Farheen Sultana and Hina Sultana, were married at a combined ceremony with the Arab under the fatwa approved by the Hyderabad-based Jamia Nizamia allowing a Muslim man to marry as many as four women in one sitting.
After spending the night of August 1 with the Arab, the girls slipped away from the hotel in the morning. With his wives not turning up even after several hours, the petrified Jabbar contacted their families, who shrugged their shoulders. Suspecting trouble, the Arab groom fled the hotel.
Meanwhile, the family of one of the girls approached the Kalapathar police, who started enquiring into their whereabouts. They soon found the girls with their boyfriends. On being queried, they told the police that they would rather stay with their young lovers. The police are now in a fix.
"We want to help them, but the girls cannot marry their lovers without getting a divorce from their husband," says inspector Sadiq Ahmed. "And he may have left the country."
The police are now trying to find out if the qazi who performed the marriage had also prepared divorce papers, as is the case with most such quick-fix marriages.
Farheen, a chubby girl from Kalapather, says her boyfriend Moiz, who works at a marriage hall, will marry her. "Of course, he will," she told this correspondent.
Hina's boyfriend is Afroze, a painter. "I met Moiz through Hina," says Farheen. "We are good friends and we will marry our boyfriends. That is for sure."
Farheen's mother Jabeen Sultana, who works as a maid, dismisses the twists and turns in the imbroglio as the play of fate. She does not mind her daughter marrying the young man of her choice.
"Whatever is written for her will happen," is her stoical comment. Interestingly, she does not regret marrying her daughter to the Arab either. "You know, he looks pretty young," she says.
"What can we do when our young men demand so much dowry. Nowadays, the boys even want motor cycles. And my husband never brings home any money." Jabeen and her husband Shaik Sardar have two sons and two daughters of which Farheen is the eldest.
The Arab 'groom' paid Rs 20,000 each to the brokers for the marriage. The brokers passed on only Rs 10,000 to the families of the girls.
While Farheen's parents are resigned to their daughter's desires, Hina's parents are reportedly upset at their daughter ditching the rich Arab groom for a painter. The girls reportedly stayed with their boyfriends for three days before they were traced by the police. "It is all rather unusual," says inspector Ahmed. "The girls have surely messed it up.
But I will discuss with my senior officers on how to help them out. It is not too late." If the police find a way, the Dilwale will still walk away with the Dulhaniya, happily.
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C R Gowri Shanker
Arabs check figure, hair to pick bride: Human Bazaar in Hyderabad
Hyderabad, August 25, 2005: Arabs who fly into the city for quick-fix marraiges are usually offered "multiple choice" of young brides by brokers, it is learnt. The meeting between the "groom" and "bride" is a quick and murky business-like affair.
A typical scene runs like this: an Arab enters a room in which several girls are lined up. He asks the girls to remove thir burkhas and inspects them. Then he chooses one, generally the girl with the best figure. It is a kind of thinly veiled prostitution.
Brokers usually parade at least four girls before the sex-seeking grooms. The girls are usually dressed up for the occassion with the brokers spending the money to make them look glamorous. Once the girl is selected, a qazi is summoned to perform a quick marraige. The bride is given some gifts and the couple zooms off for a quick honeymoon in a hotel or apartment located in areas such as Chandrayangutta.
After spending a few days with their brides, who are mostly from poor families, they vanish without a trace.
After the sensational Ameena case a few years ago, Arab men have been finding it difficult to take young brides away with them to the Gulf countries.
Date: 24/08/2005
Hyderabad, Aug. 23: Two teenaged Hyderabad girls, who were married to a middle-aged Arab in a combined ceremony on August 1, gave him the slip a day after using the oldest trick in the book.
They escaped to the arms of their boyfriends in true Bollywood style after telling their Arab groom, the 45-year-old Al Rahama Ismail Mirza Abdul Jabbar of the UAE, that they wanted to go to the market to buy lipstick.
The girls, close friends Farheen Sultana and Hina Sultana, were married at a combined ceremony with the Arab under the fatwa approved by the Hyderabad-based Jamia Nizamia allowing a Muslim man to marry as many as four women in one sitting.
After spending the night of August 1 with the Arab, the girls slipped away from the hotel in the morning. With his wives not turning up even after several hours, the petrified Jabbar contacted their families, who shrugged their shoulders. Suspecting trouble, the Arab groom fled the hotel.
Meanwhile, the family of one of the girls approached the Kalapathar police, who started enquiring into their whereabouts. They soon found the girls with their boyfriends. On being queried, they told the police that they would rather stay with their young lovers. The police are now in a fix.
"We want to help them, but the girls cannot marry their lovers without getting a divorce from their husband," says inspector Sadiq Ahmed. "And he may have left the country."
The police are now trying to find out if the qazi who performed the marriage had also prepared divorce papers, as is the case with most such quick-fix marriages.
Farheen, a chubby girl from Kalapather, says her boyfriend Moiz, who works at a marriage hall, will marry her. "Of course, he will," she told this correspondent.
Hina's boyfriend is Afroze, a painter. "I met Moiz through Hina," says Farheen. "We are good friends and we will marry our boyfriends. That is for sure."
Farheen's mother Jabeen Sultana, who works as a maid, dismisses the twists and turns in the imbroglio as the play of fate. She does not mind her daughter marrying the young man of her choice.
"Whatever is written for her will happen," is her stoical comment. Interestingly, she does not regret marrying her daughter to the Arab either. "You know, he looks pretty young," she says.
"What can we do when our young men demand so much dowry. Nowadays, the boys even want motor cycles. And my husband never brings home any money." Jabeen and her husband Shaik Sardar have two sons and two daughters of which Farheen is the eldest.
The Arab 'groom' paid Rs 20,000 each to the brokers for the marriage. The brokers passed on only Rs 10,000 to the families of the girls.
While Farheen's parents are resigned to their daughter's desires, Hina's parents are reportedly upset at their daughter ditching the rich Arab groom for a painter. The girls reportedly stayed with their boyfriends for three days before they were traced by the police. "It is all rather unusual," says inspector Ahmed. "The girls have surely messed it up.
But I will discuss with my senior officers on how to help them out. It is not too late." If the police find a way, the Dilwale will still walk away with the Dulhaniya, happily.
----------------------
C R Gowri Shanker
Arabs check figure, hair to pick bride: Human Bazaar in Hyderabad
Hyderabad, August 25, 2005: Arabs who fly into the city for quick-fix marraiges are usually offered "multiple choice" of young brides by brokers, it is learnt. The meeting between the "groom" and "bride" is a quick and murky business-like affair.
A typical scene runs like this: an Arab enters a room in which several girls are lined up. He asks the girls to remove thir burkhas and inspects them. Then he chooses one, generally the girl with the best figure. It is a kind of thinly veiled prostitution.
Brokers usually parade at least four girls before the sex-seeking grooms. The girls are usually dressed up for the occassion with the brokers spending the money to make them look glamorous. Once the girl is selected, a qazi is summoned to perform a quick marraige. The bride is given some gifts and the couple zooms off for a quick honeymoon in a hotel or apartment located in areas such as Chandrayangutta.
After spending a few days with their brides, who are mostly from poor families, they vanish without a trace.
After the sensational Ameena case a few years ago, Arab men have been finding it difficult to take young brides away with them to the Gulf countries.
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