After young Kashmiri politician Shehla Rashid obtained a restraining order against her father Abdul Rashid Shora who she has accused of being an abusive husband and parent, the man made counter accusations and claimed he was being threatened.
Abdul Rashid Shora claimed a ‘threat” to his life ‘from family’, and has written to J&K DGP seeking security cover. However Shehla Rashid has put out in public the courts order restraining Abdul Rashid, and claimed the man was reacting to this. The court had ordered Abdul Rashid to keep away from the family home and restrained him from any attempts at harassment, domestic violence.
Shehla Rashid, former vice-president of the Jawaharlal Nehru University Students’ Union, and a former Jammu and Kashmir Peoples Movement (JKPM) leader, is a well known young politician in Kashmir and is known as an activist across the country. She made a public statement after her father’s many allegations went viral on social media on Monday night. She revealed that it was her mother, who was a victim of domestic violence allegedly inflicted by her father over many years.
“Many of you must have come across a video of my biological father making wild allegations against me and my mum & sis. To keep it short and straight, he’s a wife-beater and an abusive, depraved man. We finally decided to act against him, and this stunt is a reaction to that,” she stated.
According to Shehla, her father, Abdul Rashid Shora, has leveled “absolutely disgusting, baseless allegations against me, my mother and my sister,” she added that she was forced to respond openly “because the allegations made are of (a) very serious nature. The fact of the matter is that my mother, my sister and I have filed a complaint of domestic violence with the court under which my father — who has been abusive towards us for as long as we can remember — has been restrained from entering home on 17-11-2020. The false allegation he is making are a reaction to that. My mother has tolerated abuse, violence and mental torture all her life. She has been quiet for the sake of respect for the family.”
She shared that the abuse had been going on for a long time and as children she and her sister, “we were unable to protect our mother. Now that we have started speaking up against his physical and mental abuse, he has started abusing us too. I have also filed an FIR in September,” she requested that people do not “take him seriously and let us mourn in peace,” as the family had recently lost a close relative.
2) This is not a political matter, as it has been going on ever since I came to senses.
Exhibit 1: Letter to him from Mohalla Committee in 2005 asking him not to abuse us. pic.twitter.com/bgpCNyW3e3
— Shehla Rashid (@Shehla_Rashid) November 30, 2020
Meanwhile, Abdul Rashid Shora on Monday wrote to J&K DGP Dilbag Singh, saying he feared for his life after being threatened by his daughter’s armed “bodyguard” into leaving the family’s Srinagar home because he disapproved of her political and financial dealings, reported the Times of India. He asked that an inquiry be launched to look at Shehla’s finances, and he accused her “of receiving Rs 3 crore from two people under investigation for terror funding.” Shora has accused his daughter of carrying out “anti-national” activities.
Shehla Rashid’s father demands security against his own daughter; calls her anti national
Watch full video here https://t.co/Y346LSr6mU pic.twitter.com/XvA5113rnh
— The RealKashmir News (@TheRealKashmir_) November 30, 2020
Sections of local media have amplified claims by Abdul Rashid Shora, that he was offered Rs 3 crore to get Shehla to join the JKPM, and that the money was offered by former J&K MLA Engineer SA Rashid and businessman Zahoor Watali. As reported by The Print, both these men are currently in jail in connection with a militancy-related case being probed by the National Investigation Agency (NIA).
Abdul Rashid Shora said, “They offered me Rs 3 crore for Shehla to join those notorious people. As I felt that the money is coming from illegal channels and shall be used for unlawful activities, I did not take the money, and later asked my daughter to not indulge in any such transactions with these people.” He alleged that even though he did not approve, Shehla “went ahead with the offer”, and told him to “not disclose anything” as it could put his “life in danger”.
“I have a strong belief that anti-national activities are going on in my house, the characters involved in this plan are my daughters, my wife and Shehla’s security man named Sakib Ahmad, who lately threatened me with his pistol for my resistance to Shehla for her activities,” he alleged.
According to a report by The Print, a police officer, on the condition of anonymity said that the force had not taken any cognisance of the complaint by Shora yet and “the allegations are of serious nature, but from preliminary findings, it appears to be a case of domestic violence that has got out of hand.”
As expected the Right Wing troll armies have worked hard all night on Monday to fan hate speech against the young Muslim woman poltician. Who of course has refused to cow down to such abuse, and has given all credit to her mother for raising her and her sister over the years.
Thanks, Sharmistha. Our mother has been our mother, father and more. https://t.co/e4qYHaD34I
— Shehla Rashid (@Shehla_Rashid) December 1, 2020
Related:
State cannot act in misogynistic way: Himachal Pradesh HC
SC: Women have a right to stay at marital home under domestic violence laws
Making the Domestic Violence Act work for Women: Majlis Experience
Violence against women – more than just a law & order problem