NEW DELHI: “Che-saat abortion hue mere… meri marzi ke bina.Tablet de dete the mere husband,” Shayara Bano recalls hesitantly. (I had 6-7 abortions without my consent. My husband would give me a tablet.) Shayara, 38, can’t recall the exact number of her abortions. It is all confusing in the soul-numbing mix of beatings, threats, bleeds and sickness.

Speaking to TOI from her parents’ village Hempur Daya in Kashipur, Uttarakhand, Shayara recounts how her 15-year marriage ended abruptly when a `talaqnama’ (divorce deed) landed at their home. When the shock wore off, Shayara decided to seek maintenance and custody of her two children left behind with her husband in Allahabad.

Last week, she moved the Supreme Court seeking a ban on the practice of triple talaq, following which the apex court issued a notice seeking the government’s response. “There were constant demands from my husband who is a property dealer. He wanted an Alto car, Rs 6-7 lakh in cash. I stayed in the marriage fearing a bad name. The abortions gave me infections, made me sick. I came to my parents house for a few days to rest. The talaqnama came by post… since then I have not been able to speak to my children,” she said.

Shayara, a masters in sociology , had dreams of becoming a teacher till her parents fixed her match. Her petition filed through advocates Amit Chadha and Balaji Srinivasan argues that the practice has been either banned or restricted in many countries like Iraq, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan but continues in India.

A study by NGO Bharatiya Muslim Mahila Andolan found that 92.1% women favoured ban of the practice of triple talaq.The study conducted across 10 states found a majority of the women were economically and socially disadvantaged, over half had been married before 18 and faced domestic violence.

“I don’t want others to go through what I did,” she said, explaining why she has taken up the fight.http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Divorced-after-seven-abortions-woman-wants-triple-talaq-ban/articleshow/51283858.cms