Aluva woman Adhila Nassrin, who had on Saturday taken to social media claiming her lesbian partner was abducted fears their relatives have turned to the illegal practice of conversion therapy to separate them.
Adhila's suspicion is based on a brief telephonic conversation she had with Noora on Sunday, five days after the couple was kept incommunicado by the latter's relatives.
“She is at the clinic of a counsellor called Ali, somewhere in Malappuram,” Adhila told Onmanorama over the phone from a short-stay home in Aluva, where she is put up since her partner's relatives assaulted her and abducted Noora.
Conversion therapies are reportedly 'unscientific' practices involving psychological, physical, and even spiritual interventions that are used to try and change the sexual orientation of homosexuals and bisexuals.
Earlier this year, the National Medical Commission had termed it 'professional misconduct' during a hearing on a plea by a lesbian couple at the Madras High Court.
Adhila says she was allowed to speak to Noora on the condition that she would take down her voice clips from social media – the content of which was reported by Onmanorama on Saturday.
“But I'll not take it down. In fact, I'm planning to file a complaint because I fear Noora's safety. She could not speak freely because her relatives were around but she gave me enough hints from which I'm convinced she is not safe,” said Adhila.
Adhila said she also spoke with the 'counsellor' who told her to give him a month's time to sort things out. “He told me to remove the Fb post. He also said Noora's father (who is in Saudi) was in an ICU. But I don't believe them,” said Adhila.
The 22-year-old, who met Noora during their plus-two days is convinced that their “only mistake was telling our parents about our relationship”. “We have both got jobs in Chennai and we will have financial independence and we want to be together,” she said.
The couple is being supported by Vanaja Collective, a Kozhikode-based NGO that works with members of LGBTIQ+ and other marginalised/ vulnerable communities.
