Divorced at 17

An escape to freedom- Part 3

But she went that night only cause she didn't have any money in her hand.Luckilyher husband did not suspect anything he was fast asleep snoring loudly. Farhana was awake due to the snoring and she was thinking of a plan.

The next day her husband left for work and told Faru that he won't come that night. Faru was secretly very happy but kept a neutral expression on her face with great difficulty and said okay. Her husband grabbed her hair and told her to better behave and not trouble her parents and pushed her down. Faru was in tears but she consoled herself cause she was going to carry out her plan. That night she packed minimum and took some money from her husband's locker, she knew the locker combination as she would watch her husband take money from it often. She made sure her in- laws were asleep and she just left without looking back. One of her schoolmates, a boy Fayaz was waiting for her in his car. They both caught a flight to the US, San Francisco where her brother Abdullah was living with his wife. When they reached his home, Abdullah was happy to see his sister but shocked to see her bruises. When Faru told her brother what happened and her plan. Her brother was enraged and decided to give Ali Zafar a piece of his mind but he was hesistant at the idea of his 16 year old sister getting a divorce. He told both Fayaz and Faru that they can stay here as long as they like but told Farhana to forget about the idea of getting a divorce as that could cause a major scandal. But Abdullah's wife, Aman encouraged Faru and told her she would help her with the finances.

Farhana thus went back to Islamabad with Fayaz and few of his friends for protection just in case she gets killed. She went to court directly, the people were shocked to see a 16 year old girl surrounded by a bunch of tough- looking guys and they were whispering among themselves that she has loose morals. But one judge, Mohammed- al- Zafari noticed her and was actually impressed by the girl's courage and decided to put her father and husband into custody. A female lawyer, Afreen Begum decided to defend Farhana. At first the court asked Farhana to resume living with her husband after a break of 5 years. But Farhana refused and wanted complete freedom and Afreen Begum argued that Farhana's marriage violated the law as she was raped. Thus on June 6th 2008, Farhana was granted a divorce at the age of 17.

As of 2014, Farhana is now 23 years old living alone in an apartment, studying medicine in John Hopkins with her brother serving as finanicial support. She has cut all ties with her family. Her father and husband are currently in prison. She visits her brother, wife and twins daughters in San Francisco, California. She still has no intentions of getting married but said she will adopt children in the future. She has started an organisation, RESPECT THE GENDER WHO GAVE BIRTH TO YOU (RGWGBY) and is also part of the StopAcidAttacks Campaign.