United News of Bangladesh

Four-month-old twin sisters – Mehrin and Naurin – sleep peacefully in their grandmother’s arms, unaware of the hardship that has overshadowed their short lives. Their mother, Rina Khatun of Maheshpur upazila in Jhenaidah, claims that her husband divorced her after she gave birth to the twin girls. However, twins’ father Rakibul Islam rejected Rina’s allegations, describing them as “false and baseless” and instead claiming that Rina is involved in a “marriage trade” for money and that she had married four times earlier. “Is giving birth to girls a crime?” asked Rina, struggling to hold back tears while speaking about the ordeal she says began during her pregnancy. She said she married Rakibul Islam of Purana Kola village about one and a half years ago. The couple's married life progressed normally until a medical examination revealed that she was carrying twin daughters. Rina alleged that after learning the babies were girls, the attitude of her husband and in-laws changed significantly. “The mental torture began when they learned both children would be girls,” she said, while narrating the whole episode at Maheshpur Police Station on Friday. “They said they would have accepted the children if at least one of them was a boy. I could not understand such hatred towards my own daughters.” Rina also alleged that demands for dowry were made during her pregnancy and that she faced both mental and physical abuse from her in-laws. After giving birth to Mehrin and Naurin on February 11, the situation worsened, she claimed. Eventually, she was sent to her parents’ home and later received a divorce notice on April 25. “I have done nothing wrong,” she said. “Whether a child is born as a boy or a girl is not in human hands. Yet my daughters and I have been abandoned. I worry about their future every day,” the young woman said. Her mother, Halima Khatun, said the family is struggling to care for the two infants amid financial hardship and uncertainty. “We want justice for my daughter and grandchildren,” she said. “They deserve to live with dignity and security.” However, Rakibul denied the allegations. “I was very happy to have daughters,” he said over the phone. “The claims Rina is making are not true.” He said their marriage went smoothly for about a month before problems began to emerge. He alleged that Rina would quarrel whenever he tried to use her mobile phone. Rakibul further claimed that while she was pregnant, Rina attempted to terminate the pregnancy when it was eight months along. “Later, I came to know that marriage was a business for her,” he alleged. “Before marrying me, she had been married four times. Each time, she allegedly collected a large amount of money through the marriage contract and then left,” he said. Rakibul claimed that his marriage contract with Rina involved a dower amount of Tk 300,000. He said he had wanted to continue the marriage but alleged that Rina used to roam around on motorcycles with another man while leaving their two-month-old babies behind. “I did not like that,” he said. “When I tried to bring her back to my house, she said she would not return without her mother.” Alleging that Rina’s family is involved in fraudulent activities centred on marriage contracts, he said, “The entire family runs a business through marriage and dower money. By marrying Rina, I myself have become a victim.” Officer-in-Charge of the police station Mehedi Hasan said the allegations were being treated seriously. “We are looking into the matter from both legal and humanitarian perspectives,” he said. “An investigation will be conducted and appropriate legal action will be taken if the allegations are found to be true.” The OC said the matter has already been reported to the Superintendent of Police.