27 years of abuse suffered in silence

Wedded at 14 by an arranged marriage her parents lead Shaeba to a living hell. Her parents, and friends where unaware of the abuses Shaeba suffered in the hands of her husband.

Shaeba lived in hope despite the cruelty shown towards her by the husband. She hoped that he will change. She feared more that the community will think ill of her if she did share her sufferings. She feared for others due to the husband. He threatened to kill or beat up anyone whoever raised the issue of abuse. Shaeba was terrified for the well being of her kids if she left the abusive husband. She suffered in silence to protect her kids. She cried and prayed.

The husband abused, humiliated and tore her clothes and kept her naked in front of the kids. His anger and abused at times reached her children too. She was slapped on her face to unconsciousness. Cigarettes were burnt into her skin and her leg was cut by a knife. She kept all this in fear for her children and of what the island community would think of her. She suffered in silence for years.

Her youngest child reached about age 15, Shaeba decided that it was time to her to take action to get divorce. The family court in the island was not helpful. She had to travel to the Capital island, Male'. Here too, she faced with a the court taking side of her lying husband. She did not give up in the face of the failures. Her faith was strong and she states that with God's blessing now she is away from him.

She urge women not to suffer in silence in hands of abusive husbands. She still fears that her daughters may end up in an abusive relationships. She advice her son to be kind to the wife. She has a lot of pain and suffering to heal in the future.

I thank Aasiath Mohamed Saeed for publishing this article in Haveeruonline on 25 November 2010 that assisted me to raise her voice here at WP.

The above article is a brief presentation to depict a story shared by a woman in the “Thinakun Ekeh” a campaign to stop violence against women. The photo is a screen capture form the web page and the name is not the real name.

I am in hope that IVAWA will be endorsed and signed. I am happy that in Maldives the Bill for “Domestic violence” has been endorsed. People concerned are questing whether the objective of the bill would be achieved.

“The domestic violence bill submitted by Thulusdhoo MP Rozaina Adam was sent to an 11-member committee with 40 out of 41 members voting in favour of the proposal (Haveeruonline, 2010).

I congratulate all who made this happen :-)

Reference
http://www.haveeru.com.mv/english/details/33491
http://www.haveeru.com.mv/?page=details&id=103719

Please join the PulseWire community in speaking out against violence and urging the U.S. government to pass the International Violence Against Women Act (I-VAWA). Write your letter in your PulseWire journal to share your personal and observed experience in gender-based violence, both in your life and within your community. Tag your journal "IVAWA", and World Pulse will send your letter directly to President Obama, along with letters from women around the world. Learn more: http://www.worldpulse.com/pulsewire/programs/international-violence-agai...