UMM AL QUWAIN // Two years ago, Fatima went to court to fight for her marriage rights. Today, she is held at home with few means of communication.
Last March, The National reported the case of Fatima, 28, who filed a lawsuit in October 2014 against her parents for refusing, for "racist reasons", to marry her to the man she loves.
However, the lawsuit did not solve her problem. She was physically abused by her brothers and locked in the family home.
“I am not allowed to work or study, or leave the house. My father sleeps at night in my room. I can’t believe this is how I live. I don’t know when the last time I felt normal,” she said.
Fatima uses a maid’s phone to contact friends, but mostly she has no other means of communicating with the outside world.
“I am afraid of getting used to this feeling, to this emptiness,” she said.
She said her family has sold her car and “kept the money”.
“They want to take away any source of power I have. My bank cards were also confiscated. They buy the groceries, I cannot really leave the house, not even to go to the supermarket. I am quiet because I am not used to humiliating myself for little things.
“When I question them, they say we are not restricting you. It is like they fail to see the truth, or pretend this is not the reality we live in,” she said.
Emotional abuse pushed Fatima to attempt suicide. Early in October, she said she overdosed on painkillers and was taken to the hospital for treatment. “But I was not allowed to see a psychologist, nor did I receive a mental health exam. I had wanted it but my father refused in order to stay away from the eyes of police.”
Fatima is asking to live her life normally again, to have a career and pursue higher education. She is longing for an independent life, but she said there were few avenues open to her.
hdajani@thenational.ae
