Firdous Arshiya, who has gone from being a reticent woman to the emboldened wife taking up cudgels for her husband Mohammed Haneef after his detention in Australia, on Wednesday said it was "her unflinching trust" in him that made her speak up vociferously for him.
Firdous, who had settled down to enjoy domestic bliss and motherhood and is still recuperating from the birth of her daughter, vowed to fight to the end till Haneef gets "due justice."
Pointing out that the news of Haneef's detention in connection with the failed terror plot in Britain had come as a bolt from the blue, she told PTI in Bangalore: "I have never ever been a leader nor have I ever been a spokesperson for anything, but I think it is circumstances that changed me. I knew I had to speak up for my husband. If I did not, no one would."
"The strength, I think, came from Allah, in whom I repose my complete trust and I know that my husband is innocent. It is the truth that has filled me with courage to take up the fight," said Firdous, who still winces with pain and discomfort arising from her post-delivery health condition.
"I will fight to the end, till I see that my husband gets due justice," she said softly, but assertively.
"My entire family has supported me and my decision to speak up. There have been no impediments or taunts for speaking up," she said in reply to a question whether she had faced any criticism for speaking in front of cameras.
Taking a trip down memory lane, Firdous, an engineer, said though she hailed from a family of businessmen, her decision to pursue engineering was welcomed by all.
"I was interested in engineering," she said.
Firdous' father Ashwaq added: "She has always been a very good student, right from her school days."
Talking about her marriage to Haneef, she said, "It was an arranged marriage. Even at our first meeting, it was Haneef's flawless character that impressed me."
"It was his truthfulness and simplicity that appealed to me," she added.
As with most would-be brides, her family made discreet enquiries about Haneef before the marriage and all of them led to the same thing -- "he had an unblemished character even then."
She received the proposal for marriage from Haneef. He was working in Britain, she said. The couple later moved to Australia.
"He always confided in me. There was nothing that Haneef hid from me," Firdous said.
"He is my husband and I know him well," she said refuting allegations that she was kept in the dark.
Speaking in support of his daughter, Ashwaq said, "We are proud of the way she has handled the media and taken up cudgels for her husband. I think her educational background helped."
"It is praiseworthy that she has garnered so much courage to speak up and her confidence amazes us," he said.
"She never lost hope even when there was bad news. It is the truth that infuses her with courage. The first day, she was nervous and hence she could not speak up. But the rapid developments changed her and emboldened her to speak up," said Ashwaq.
Despite her health condition, Firdous has the strength to speak and fight for her husband, an example that many in a similar position could emulate, Ashwaq said.
"I think she should not have been an engineer. I think she fits the role of a lawyer better," he said.
While Firdous has chosen to put up a brave front, Haneef's ailing and aging mother could not cope with the news of her son's arrest.
"She just collapsed on the floor when she heard the news of his arrest. The entire family was inconsolable when the news first broke," said a neighbour.
"I have stopped watching the TV because it sends me into depression," Haneef's mother, who suffers from asthma and had undergone a surgery, was quoted as saying by a neighbour.
Sohaib, Haneef's younger brother who is pursuing engineering, has not been able to sit for his semester examination following the sudden developments.
"He will miss out on a precious year of his education," said a neighbour.
The family has now left their fate in the hands of destiny and Allah and taken recourse to prayers and reading the holy Quran, said another neighbour.
