Muslim woman denied flat in Mumbai; told 'we don't give flats to Muslims'
Mumbai, May 27: In yet another incident of religious discrimination in Mumbai, a 25-year-old woman was denied flat for being Muslim. Misbah Quadri was allegedly refused a flat by a builder as she belongs to the minority community.
An activist has taken up the matter with the National Commission for Minorities seeking a probe into the builder's "discriminatory policy." Misbah Quadri, who works with a Public Relations agency, had been living in an apartment at Kandivali in the western suburbs of Mumbai since the time she shifted to the city from Gujarat a year back.
Recently, she tried to move to a flat in Wadala area but met with the shocking response from the builder of the apartment. "After a lot of searching, I finally found a house at Wadala and paid a deposit of Rs 24,000 through a broker.
Religious discrimination: Mumbai company denies job to MBA grad, says we hire only non-Muslims
A night before I was to move in, I got a call from the broker, warning me not to shift there as it is the builder's policy to not have Muslim tenants. I tried to reason with him but he did not oblige," Quadri said.
A
lot
of
times
brokers
never
showed
me
flats.
But
this
time
I
was
told
I
to
leave
the
house
within
a
week
because
I
am
Muslim:
Misbah
Quadri
—
ANI
(@ANI_news)
May
27,
2015
Told
broker
that
if
he
wants
some
living
conditions
can
be
laid
down,
lk
what
I
cant
cook
in
the
house:
Misbah
Quadri
pic.twitter.com/w0soqPGhhY
—
ANI
(@ANI_news)
May
27,
2015
Broker
asked
for
NOC
saying
that
I
cant
hold
anyone
responsible
in
case
I
face
harassment
for
being
a
Muslim
in
the
building:
Misbah
Quadri
—
ANI
(@ANI_news)
May
27,
2015
She claimed that the broker asked her to sign a "no-objection certificate" declaring that if she faced any harassment from her neighbours because of her religion, the builder, the owner and the broker "would not be legally responsible."
"I had to move into the flat though I did not agree with the terms because the notice period with my previous flat had expired and there was nowhere I could go. After a week, the broker called me again and asked me to leave. I had no option then but to leave the flat. Presently I am staying at a paying guest accommodation in Bandra," she said.
Quadri claimed that when she approached the representative of the builder who has an office in the same building, she was told that it was a policy of theirs to not give homes on rent to Muslims. "He also said that maybe 5-6 years down the line they may start renting flats to Muslims," she said.
Meanwhile, activist Shehzad Poonawala, in a petition filed before the National Minorities Commission, has prayed that an inquiry be conducted into the allegation to ascertain whether the builder has a discriminatory policy against a religious community, which involves violation of the constitutional provisions.
He also sought legal action against the builder and the broker and urged the Commission to direct the Central government to call for a meeting of all stake-holders including real estate brokers, developers, state governments, activists, Home Ministry, Social Justice Ministry, Urban Housing Ministry and so on and issue strict legislative and statutory guidelines against discrimination of minorities.
Poonawala also suggested promulgation of a "Fair Housing Law" or guidelines on illegal discrimination against any community in matters concerning housing.
OneIndia News