Destitute woman sues for justice and wins
The Court Reporters’ Association later filed another dower case in which the court issued an arrest warrant for Ayesha's husband Jashim as he didn't appear before the court
Born into a poor family, Ayesha Begum got affected by polio at the age of five. She has been unable to walk ever since.
Her family could not treat her because of poverty. With tiny paralysed feet, she has no strength to stand upright or walk. She used to make ends meet by begging in the Gulshan area of Dhaka.
After saving up Tk14 lakh from the donations she got, Ayesha planned to return to her village and use her savings to start farming with her family.
But her fate changed when she met Jashim, 45, who lured her into marriage after a five-year relationship. They got married in 2014, and a year later, they were blessed with a daughter.
Ayesha had never even imagined her beloved husband cheating her. But Jashim swindled her of all her savings in the name of investing in a car business.
He convinced her by saying that they needed the money for the education of their daughter and other costs. An innocent Ayesha gave him all of her money in the hopes of having a better life.
However, the moment Jashim got the money, he started abusing her both physically and mentally. Soon after, he fled with the money and cut off all communications with her.
Now, at the age of 40, Ayesha is back to begging. She can be found asking for help in the lower court area of the capital.
But Ayesha refused to be defeated. In her search for justice, she sought help from the government's legal aid programme and filed a case for dower and maintenance at the family court.
Muslim law recognizes wives' rights to get maintenance during the continuation of marriage. As Jashim never divorced her, the couple are still legally married, and her husband bound to pay her.
The court ruled in favour of Ayesha and ordered her husband to pay her Tk2 lakh at a time and Tk6,000 monthly as living expenses for her and their daughter because they live separately. But Jashim did not appear in the court.
Later, the Court Reporters' Association filed another dower case, in which the court issued an arrest warrant for Jashim. He has been in jail for two months.
