Bareilly leader announces reward for stoning and shaving head of anti-triple talaq crusaders

The head of a Bareilly NGO on Friday allegedly announced rewards for anybody who stones and shaves the heads of two women who went public with their grievances after being divorced through triple-talaq, a controversial Islamic practice that permits instant separation of married partners.

The women in question are Nida Khan, who was the target of a fatwa issued by Barelvi clerics four days ago, and Farhat Naqvi, the sister of Union minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi.

“Our group will award Rs 11,786 to anyone who stones Nida Khan and Farhat Naqvi, shaves their heads and scares them away from India,” declared All India Faizan-e-Madina Council head Moin Siddique Noori.

Incidentally, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to meet both Khan and Naqvi during a rally at Shahjahanpur on Saturday. The two were formally invited by Rajesh Kumar Mishra, the BJP MLA from Bareilly.

The two women have led several campaigns against the practices of triple talaq and nikah halala (a law that requires a divorced woman to marry and sleep with another man in order to return to her first husband) for some time now. Khan, who was married to Ahmed Raza Khan, was allegedly harassed by her in-laws for dowry before being given the triple talaq. She had lodged a police complaint, alleging domestic violence and harassment, in 2016.

Naqvi is also pursuing a case against her in-laws after being separated from her husband.

This is not the first time Noori has made a controversial announcement. Last year, he had promised to reward anybody who succeeds in decapitating Shia Waqf Board chairperson Waseem Rizvi and Canada-based scholar Tarek Fatah.