M. INDIRA Gandhi has been in the headlines and lauded for her courage in the nine-year battle against the unilateral conversion of her three children to Islam.

And she is now a nominee of the US Secretary of State’s International Women of Courage Award.

But the 41-year-old kindergarten teachers still feels an emptiness in the heart that no accolade or recognition can fill – the absence of her youngest child, Prasana Diksa.

It has been 10 years since she last saw her daughter, who was taken by her former husband Muhammad Riduan Abdullah, when the child was 11 months old, in 2009.

“I’m very grateful to be (nominated for) the award but all I’m thinking about is Prasana Diksa.

“She will be turning 10 next month and the single most important thing is I want is to see her again,” she told The Malaysian Insight.

Besides Prasana, the two other children are a daughter, now 21, and a 20-year-old son.

Since the January 29 Federal Court decision, which ruled that the unilateral conversion of the three children to Islam by Riduan was null and void, police have not contacted Indira Gandhi about Prasana’s whereabouts.

The apex court ruled that the conversion of minors to Islam required the consent of both parents and the constitutional word “parent” was a case of being lost in translation.

With its decision, the court had also ordered police to locate Riduan and Prasana and to return the child to Indira Gandhi.

“Even after getting justice, I’m still waiting to see my child. I’m still waiting for the police to locate my child.”

Indira Gandhi said all she wants is to see Prasana again, even if it turns out that her daughter rejects her as her mother due to the years of separation. 

During the nine-year legal battle, Riduan had defied the civil court’s order for him to return Prasana to his ex-wife. He also obtained a shariah court order which awarded him custody of the children.

The Ipoh High Court in 2014 issued a warrant of arrest for Riduan and to find Prasana. 

After the Federal Court’s decision in January, police said they had no leads on Riduan’s whereabouts, although they believed he was still in the country. 

Police than asked the public to help locate Riduan and Prasana by providing information.

Indira Gandhi’s mother and the two older children will accompany her to a reception hosted by the US Embassy at US Ambassador Kamala Shirin Lakhdhir’s residence tonight.

The event, in conjunction with International Women’s Day 2018 and Women’s History Month celebrations in the US, is also to honour Indira Gandhi for her perseverance and courage.

“I hope my nomination will serve as reminder to all women not to give up hope.

“This gives us women the moral support and encouragement to stand for issues, like in my case on the unilateral conversion of my children.

“Women should not be afraid to come out and voice their opinion on any issues.”

If Indira Gandhi wins the award, she will be the third Malaysian to receive it.

Past winners were former president of the Malaysian Bar Ambiga Sreenevasan in 2009 and transgender rights advocate Nisha Ayub in 2016, who also became the first trans woman to win the award.

The award has been given since 2007 for women who have shown “exceptional courage and leadership in advocating for human rights, women’s equality, and social progress, often at great personal risk”. – March 28, 2018.