Divorced at 17

Dreams Shattered- Part 1

This is a story about 16 year old Farhana Rashid, a Pakistani born in a typical middle class muslim family in Islamabad. Her parents Mohammed Rashid and Sarah Rashid were very conservative who prayed 5 times a day, fasted during the month of Ramadan and followed every custom of Islam. Abdullah Rashid, Farhana's older brother is 22 and is married to one of his father's friends' daughter and settled in the US. Abdullah wanted to become a musician but his father wanted him to take care of his polyster business. Faru as her parents call her was very smart and excelled in her studies and she wanted to become a doctor but her parents had other plans for her. She was ought to get married to her cousin who was 32. Farhana was against the whole idea of marriage, she would puke a little in her mouth at the whole thought of marriage. One reason was that she wanted to continue her studies to be a doctor and settle abroad as she wanted a free life. Two, was that her older sister by 2 years Zaynah was married to their cousin who was 35, she was abused, beaten and tortured by her husband and in-laws and her parents didn't do anything about it as they felt they should not interfere in their daughter's marriage. One night Zaynah's husband came to her room, she was pregnant at that time, poured sulphuric acid all over her cause he felt she wasn't a good wife. She was almost dead, she couldn't breathe as her nose was melting. She was admitted to the hospital and she was alive but ended up losing her baby and her face. Zaynah who was disfigured completely then decided to take her own life. She jumped out from the 6th floor in the hospital building and was fatal. Her family was upset of course but they never felt any sort of regret or guilt. Farhana was in shock and refused to speak to anyone for almost a year. Farhana from then decided not to get married. But after completing her 12th with 95%, she wanted to study in John Hopkins but she knew her parents wouldn't dream of doing that.