A 32-year-old woman in Feni’s Parshuram upazila has allegedly been divorced by her husband for voting for the BNP’s “Sheaf of Paddy” symbol in the 13th national election held on February 12.
The incident took place in Paglirkul village under Chithlia union and sparked a stir in the area after it came to light on Monday afternoon.
The woman, Runa Akhter Munni, claimed that on the night before the election, her husband, Nur Mohammad Sumon, asked her which symbol she would vote for.
“I told him I had seen my father vote for the Sheaf of Paddy since childhood and I would do the same. He then forbade me from going to the polling station,” she alleged.
Runa said that after her husband left home on election day, she went to Rajshapur Ali Azzam High School polling centre and cast her vote for the Sheaf of Paddy.
“When he returned at night, he said he had voted for the Scale symbol and that it had won here. When I told him I had voted for the Sheaf of Paddy, he did not say anything further that night,” she said.
According to her, the next morning he allegedly beat her and their eldest son, took land documents from the house and left. “He later told neighbours that he had divorced me through the court,” she added.
However, when contacted by phone, Sumon denied divorcing his wife over voting. He said he had ended the marriage due to family disputes.
“It was not because of voting. She was not even a voter, so how could she vote?” he claimed, adding that he had registered the divorce through an affidavit at the Feni Notary Public Office on February 15 and sent the divorce notice by post.
Documents seen by UNB show that an affidavit, No. 170, regarding the divorce was issued on February 15 under the signature of lawyer Rabiul Haque Robi of the Feni Notary Public Office. In the petition, Sumon cited various family issues, including alleged misconduct and failure to maintain family life.
Local sources said Runa is a registered voter, with voter number 4229560646 and voter slip number 578.
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Runa and Sumon were married on November 7, 2014. They have two sons — Mobarak Hossain Murad, 10, and Mohammad Mostakim Hossain, 3. Sumon runs a shop named Bhai Bhai Store at Rajshapur Bazar.
Neighbour Kausar Alam said Runa informed him about the matter after Sumon left home. Farmer Abdul Kader said Sumon had called him last Sunday, saying a divorce notice had been sent from the court and asking that she be told to leave the house.
After the matter became public, local BNP leaders, including Chithlia Union BNP President Munshi Nazrul Islam Jahangir and General Secretary Master Sheikh Ahmed, visited Sumon’s house.
Upazila BNP Convener Abdul Halim Manik alleged that Sumon divorced his wife for voting for the Sheaf of Paddy. “Such incidents are reprehensible and harmful to society,” he said.