One Woman's Story Of Forced Marriage, Abuse, And Escape Through Education

This story of a forced marriage is set in an unlikely place: Toronto. Samra Zafar, a talented young girl, lived happily with her parents in the United Arab Emirates. She dreamed of attending top universities and having a great career. But when she was 16, her family arranged her marriage to a 28-year-old IT professional who lived in Canada. Zafar agreed, on the condition that she would be allowed to go to school and, later, to university.

Zafar only met her husband on the day before her wedding and got pregnant soon after her wedding night. By the time she was 17, she had to live in a foreign country, in a city where she knew no one, and become a mother. Their relationship soon turned abusive, and it took Zafar 10 more years to build up the courage and to save up enough money to escape.

This story paints a clear picture of the price of traditionalism as a kind of culture that omits so many things: Zafar knew nothing of sex and contraception and got pregnant against her will. She was taught only to be a dutiful wife, and not how to protect her rights. These omissions cost Zafar her youth, and it took her extraordinary efforts to get out of the situation. But how many ordinary women and men are trapped in relationships like this around the world?