Fathima’s fight will go on

When Fathima, aka Lily Kumari, reached Bahrain years ago as a domestic worker, it was for her an opportunity for a better life. Not even in her wildest dreams, Fathima imagined that one day she would stand in Bahrain as the helpless wife of a cheating husband, who manages to find a place in jail on kidnapping charges.

With no legal documents to prove her marriage, Fathima is also fighting another battle to get her nine-year-old son a nationality. The mother and her stateless son are being assisted by GTU Advisor Thampi Nagarjuna. “The problem with many migrants is that they are ignorant of the law. They do not know the steps to get a marriage legalized or apply for a government document,” Nagarjuna told Tribune.  

“Besides, she is struggling financially. Legal matters require a lot of money. How a woman with a low paying job like that of her’s could afford this?” he asked. The woman’s husband is facing an extended 17-year jail term on kidnapping charges. “His initial term was for a few years, but got it extended to 17 years following an escape attempt,”  Thambi said.

Fathima also had nowhere to turn for help, as her family severed their ties with her years ago for converting to Islam. Fathima’s real trials and tribulations started with her marriage to the Indian national. “He was the first person I have ever loved, so we got married with the blessings of a Sheikh.

“Thanks to my ignorance, the marriage was not registered but went on smooth. “Things went awry, with the birth of our first child,” Fathima told Tribune. Trouble started with the husband entering her name as Fathima in the hospital records, instead of her original name as per official records. Matters got worse when the couple also failed to produce their marriage certificate for registering the child’s birth. Finally, the child was “not recorded as mine,” Fathima said.

“I still don’t know what the procedures are and relied on him to fix everything, which he said he will.” The worst happened when the husband asked Fathima to return to India to correct her legal status. “He told me to go India to sort out the paperwork for marriage and the child’s status.”