A young Malayali woman has made an appeal on social media fearing the safety of her lesbian partner, who has reportedly been abducted by family members. Vanaja Collective, an organisation that claims to be engaged in "healing and creative exploration" of LGBTIQ+ and other marginalised groups, revealed the plight of the lesbian couple, Fathima Noora and Adhila Nassrin with a Facebook post on Saturday.
Gargi H, whose Facebook profile says she works for Vanaja Collective, posted the details along with a pair of audio clips from Adhila explaining the situation. According to the Facebook post, the lesbian couple had fled their homes and arrived at Vanaja Collective in Kozhikode on May 19. Noora's family created an 'issue' at Vanaja Collective. The couple refused to go with the families in the presence of the police. "But Adhila's parents came and convinced that they would take care of the partners. They took them away after giving us in writing to take responsibility for the duo," wrote Gargi.
The post says the partners continued to suffer emotional torture and blackmailing. "They weren't even allowed to sleep at night," Gargi says. On May 23, a complaint was filed at the Thamarassery Police Station after Noora's mother took her away. Later, the couple was summoned to the Binanipuram Police Station in Aluva and allowed to leave without a case being registered after they expressed their intention to live together. However, "on May 24, Noora's mother and some others reached Adhila's house, hurt her and abducted Noora".
Vanaja Collective alerted the Binanipuram Police after it came to know that Adhila had been assaulted. Vanaja representatives also could not contact the couple as they remained incommunicado. When the cops reached Adhila's home they came to know that Noora was taken away by her mother. Adhila sought police protection following which she was shifted to a short-stay home in Aluva. "On May 27, when Vanaja Collective enquired with the Thamarassery Police Station, cops said nothing can be done for parents beating their children," writes Gargi.
A queer love story
In her voice clip, Adhila says she and Noora fell in love during their 'Plus-2' days in Saudi Arabia. "We were in a relationship from there and when our parents found out about it we convinced them that it was over. But we continued our affair," Adhila said. "We completed the degree and now I've earned a job in Chennai," says the native of Binanipuram near Aluva. Her partner, Noora hails from Kozhikode. Adhila says she has now lost contact with Noora. "The Thamarassery Police mocked us and even refused to let us file a complaint," she says.