‘Only Sushma ji understood our pain’: Woman deserted by NRI husband recalls

The news of the demise of former external affairs minister and Bharatiya Janata Party veteran, Sushma Swaraj has deeply saddened many women from the state of Uttar Pradesh who had found hope for justice and comfort in her after being deserted by their non-resident Indian (NRI) husbands.

“She was a completely accessible minister with a mother’s heart. I met her for a few minutes and she heard my ordeal patiently, assuring me of government’s intervention in my case,” said Zuby Zaidi, a distressed woman who met Swaraj on June 11, 2017, in New Delhi.

Zaidi got married to an NRI on April 10, 2014. However, in just two months, she received a divorce notice. Since then, she has been fighting for justice. “When I met Sushma ji, I felt that she understood my pain. In her demise, I have lost a family member,” she said.

There are many such women in Uttar Pradesh who have been deserted by their NRI husbands. Several of them met Sushma ji when she was the minister for external affairs.

Another suffering woman from Kanpur who did not wish to be identified said, “Our fight for justice is on but no one other than Sushma ji understood our pain. She was the one who listened to my story, consoled me and took action in my case.”

Another aggrieved women who met the former minister in March this year, said that she had assured them that the government would enact a law pertaining to NRI marriages.

“She had asked us to meet her after the Lok Sabha elections. When one of us asked Sushma ji if she would remain in the same office in the new government, she had said that she was hopeful of being able to help us out,” said a woman.