Prerana Toshniwal, Pune
Shameera Biwi, 36, dies after her husband, Nayas, a sound system worker, forced her to deliver a baby at home with the help of YouTube videos. The incident was reported in the Nemom area of Thiruvananthapuram on Tuesday, 20th February. Shameera was Nayas’s second wife. This was her fourth childbirth. His first wife who was living with them at that time helped Shameera deliver the baby. Due to excessive loss of blood, Shameera had then slipped into a coma. Only then Nayas called for an ambulance and rushed her and the baby to a hospital where both of them were declared dead on arrival.
Shameera was not allowed to see a doctor all nine months of her pregnancy.The only person allowed to treat her was Shihab, a man who ran an acupuncture clinic nearby. Nayas threatened to abandon Shameera if she fails to abide by these decisions taken by him.
After learning about Shameera’s circumstances, their neighbors had complained to Asha healthcare workers hoping for help. Nayas would not allow them inside the house. The Asha workers recalled one of their interactions with Shameera where she had told them that her husband insulted modern medicine.
Thiruvananthapuram municipal corporation councilor U Deepika said that Nayas claimed that home birth was possible with the help of YouTube videos. Shameera had three deliveries in the past, all cesarean. Hence, they were told that normal delivery was not possible. But Nayas did not allow his wife to get institutional care. She also added that Shameera was keen on getting hospital care, but was afraid of her husband.
On Wednesday, 21st February, Nayas was arrested under IPC Section 302 (Murder) and section 315 (act done with intent to prevent child being born alive or to cause it to die after birth). The police are investigating further to look for the involvement of others. They are also investigating Nayas’s daughter from his first marriage who is reportedly studying acupuncture. Health Minister Veena George called this a serious crime. She said that Shameera and the child were consigned to death by Nayas. She called this incident shocking and an act of murder. “It should not have happened in Kerala, where people are keen to seek healthcare,” she added.