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A Pakistani Woman's Inquiry
Jagriti International
receives approximately 150-200 inquiries per month. The following
is an example of the needs of women around the world. We referred
this inquiry to our partner organizations in Pakistan, Shirkat Gah,
and Pakistan Association of Women Studies. We will follow up with
Humaira's* case.
Dear Jagriti International,
My name is Humaira. I am Pakistani and in 1997 in Lahore, I
married a man against the wishes of my family (and his). We
had to leave the country because of this, but unfortunately,
in 2000, his family caught up with us and forced us to get a
divorce. My husband's family is very traditional and religious
and used their powerful position within the community to have
my husband remarried to his cousin. Once divorced, I was forced
to marry another person who I did not love. However, my ex-husband
and I could not stop seeing each other and our love affair began
again, but in secret. It was not long before I was pregnant
with my ex-husband's baby. Of course, both of our spouses found
out about this situation and I fled with my ex-husband and our
baby to Canada. We were forced to leave Pakistan because we
are afraid we will be caught by his family or the Pakistani
police and then be tortured or even killed. It is considered
a terrible sin in both the Islamic religion and in Pakistani
society to have a baby out of wedlock, but we love each other
and want to have our baby. We have claimed refugee status in
Canada but write in order to ask you for some help. We want
to know what you think will happen to us if we go back to Pakistan?
In America, how does your society treat people who have sex
without marriage and end up with a baby? What do the police
and the families do to these people? What will the future hold
for us and our baby? We would greatly appreciate your help in
saving both our lives and the life of our child.
Thank you,
Humaira
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| * Humaira is a pseudonym |
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