If there is anything symbolic in Hadiya's 'freedom' being 'restored' by the Supreme Court on International Women's Day this year, that symbolism is not heartening. An adult woman, who exercised her rights to choose her religion and to marry a man of her choice belonging to her new faith in 2016, was systematically humiliated, with the Kerala High Court annulling her marriage and placing her in the 'custody' of her father. In November 2017, she was allowed by the Supreme Court to resume her studies under the 'guardianship' of the principal of her college, before finally being allowed to rejoin her husband on March 8, 2018. Her insistence that she was neither forcibly converted nor forced to marry was ignored throughout by all the institutions with which she became associated. Instead, her father's insistent complaint that she had been brainwashed and coerced into a new religion and marriage so that she could be recruited as an extremist was given full weight. It was taken for granted that the girl was either lying or being stupid. The courts, parts of society and, presumably, the National Investigation Agency, all perceived this as an instance of love jihad, a non-existent phenomenon that has been given substance by loud rhetoric carefully dovetailed to match the majority community's prejudices and fears.

In this context, the father's use of the narrative of terror fitted in perfectly with the present drive towards polarization. Hadiya is correct when she says that all this happened because she converted to Islam. What the conversion did was strip all disguise off the repressive power of society - the father, the courts, the NIA are its various vehicles - and expose the rage that is directed at any woman who dares take unusual decisions for herself. The Supreme Court has put aside the Kerala High Court's annulment of Hadiya's marriage as bad in law and has said that the validity of the marriage cannot be questioned. But the NIA can continue looking for the 'terror' angle. If Hadiya's word about independent choice is accepted, then the NIA's role becomes a bit of a puzzle. It is deeply worrying that all institutions seem to be indirectly giving the idea of love jihad credibility by invoking the dangers of recruitment by extremists. In all this, the only inspiring feature is Hadiya's indomitable courage and unbreakable spirit. This is the gift that Indian women may treasure on International Women's Day.