Muslim woman faces discrimination

RESIDENTS of the Motnath Residency Cooperative Housing Society Limited in Gujarat are protesting and seeking to invalidate the housing allotment granted to a Muslim woman. The woman, a government employee, is facing discrimination as residents claim the housing complex is Hindu-dominated.

According to an Indian Express report, in 2017, a 44-year-old Muslim woman employed in the Ministry of Entrepreneurship and Skill Development was allotted a house in the city's Harni district under Vadodara Municipal Corporation's (VMC) low-income housing complex as part of the Mukhyamantri Awas Yojana. 

The report stated that before the woman and her minor son could move in, 33 residents wrote to the District Collector and other authorities, requesting his to invalidate the dwelling unit in the 462-unit complex and she be relocated to another housing scheme.

In the memorandum, they demanded, “The VMC has allotted the house number K204 to one minority beneficiary in March 2019. We believe that Harni area is a Hindu-dominated peaceful area and there is no settlement of Muslims in the periphery of about 4 km. It is like setting fire to the peaceful life of 461 families…”

The woman told The Indian Express that in 2020 the residents also wrote to the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) to seek her allotment to be invalidated. As per the report, the recent protest started on June 10. 

Sharing her ordeal, the woman who currently lives with her parents in another area of the city told Indian Express, “I have grown up in a mixed neighbourhood in Vadodara and my family never believed in the concept of ghettos. I always wanted my son to grow up in an inclusive neighbourhood but my dreams have been shattered as it has been almost six years and there is no solution to the opposition I am facing. My son is now in Class 12 and old enough to understand what is going on. The discrimination will affect him mentally.” she added.

She also said, “I do not wish to sell off my hard-earned property just because of this opposition. I will wait.”

The woman also told TIE that recently they contacted her about maintenance dues, which she agreed to pay if they provided her share certificate. She added that she had already paid a one-time maintenance charge of ₹50,000 to the VMC. 

Amidst opposition from many residents, one person supported the woman and stated that it was unfair to invalidate her allotment since she was a beneficiary of a government scheme and had been legally assigned the flat.

"The concerns of the residents could be valid but we are judging people without even interacting with them,” the resident said.