Dubai women find mother in India, after 28 years!

Hyderabad : Grit and determination of two women from the UAE to meet their mother separated from them nearly three decades ago finally resulted in their reunion in the Indian city of Hyderabad.

Joy of Ayesha and Fatima knew no bounds as they met their mother Nazia Begum, 60, at the office of the South zone DCP in Old City on Thursday.

Nazia of Santoshnagar got married to UAE national Rasheed Eid Obaid Rifaq Masmari at a qazi’s office in the Old City in 1981. “Rasheed took the woman to Fujairah after a few months. Only on landing there did Nazia realise that he was already married to a local there,” Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) V. Satyanarayana said.

Tortured

Nazia was eventually blessed with Ayesha and Fatima, who are now aged 29 and 26. “For some reason, Rashid began subjecting Nazia to physical and mental torture after the birth of the children. One day, he told her that they were flying to Hyderabad,” the DCP said.

He took them to the airport and got into the flight. Minutes before takeoff, he got off the flight along with the girls. Nazia had no option but to remain in the flight and landed at Hyderabad.

She then got married to a fruit vendor from neighbouring Karnataka state where she had been living all these years. “Rashid died of illness seven years ago. On learning that they were born of Rashid and Nazia, his daughters wanted to meet their mother,” the DCP added.

Only link

They stumbled upon an old photo of their mother in their house. Carrying the photo, the only link to trace their mother, the two women first came to Hyderabad three years ago but had to return to the UAE with disappointment. They came again in January this year and met the DCP.

The police searched for qazis who performed marriages in Old City 30 years ago. After dusting off old papers available with them and interacting with mediators who performed marriages with foreigners, they traced the house of Nazia in Bidar and went there to meet her.

“When Nazia said her younger daughter had six fingers on right hand, we checked with Fatima who admitted to have undergone surgery and got the sixth finger removed,” the DCP said.