Women in Pakistan suffer daily in living their normal lives, struggling with events such as rape and abuse, causing permanent mental scarring. The following women were brave and strong enough to share their stories, hoping to improve conditions for themselves and others like them.
Click on each women's photo to read her story.
Click on each women's photo to read her story.
Ayesha, age 18
The day that her brother was born, Ayesha was no longer allowed to attend school, but instead being forced to begin work and picking up new household responsibilities. That night, she went to her uncle’s house to get more bread, where she was raped, becoming unworthy of marriage, even though the assault was in no way her fault. The man who raped her is happily married and lives a normal live, while she is unable to do the same.
Rehana, age 37
Rehana fell in love at a young age with a man named Nasir, and she was happy. However, men snuck into her house one night and threatened to rape her. She told them she would kill herself if they did not leave, so she was never actually raped. Nasir’s family heard the news and decided that Rehana was “used’, and that she was no longer worthy of marrying Nasir. She was forced to marry out of desperation, and she is violently beaten by her new husband.
“Why he beats me, I don't know. Maybe he sees me as an animal with no rights, or a punching bag for his frustrations. He surely does not see me as a living and breathing human being.”
Nargis, age 18
Nargis attended school as a child, where she was very passionate about her learning and thoroughly enjoyed it. However, her father was uneducated so did not want his children to go to school and study. She started working when she was six, while her brothers and father worked only when they chose to. Her father was very abusive towards her and her mother, causing her to be afraid to sleep at night.
“Growing up in an abusive environment and seeing the torturous ways of my father has led me to lose faith in my own future.”
Nazneen, age 41
After Nazneen had a son with her husband, Nabeel, his family refused to provide for her and her son. Nabeel never accepted the child as his own, scarring Nazneen emotionally. He married another woman behind her back, and now has a new family and a new life without her. Nazneen was unable to afford to send her son to school, one of the main causes of uneducated generations.
Haseena Bano, age 53
Haseena Bano first married for love, but was forced by her husband’s parents to get a divorce. Her new husband told her that her sister had passed away, so she returned home, finding that her sister was well and alive. He had told her that he would come back for her in a few weeks, but he never came, keeping her five children. After losing her children, she started experiencing depression and panic attacks and ended up in a mental institution, where she was mentally abused. Her oldest son came to see her, but he had learned english, so she was unable to understand him, causing her to feel even more distanced from her children.
Salma, age 39
Salma was brutally beaten by her husband, receiving no mercy even when she was pregnant. Due to this, she miscarried three children. Her husband takes the money that she makes at work and spends it on pleasure items, such as alcohol and drugs. Her husband accused her of sleeping with another man and divorced her, upsetting her parents, who believe that a divorced woman is a shame. They think that she is a burden due to her marital status, even though their home runs on her income.