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Fatima from the United Arab Emirates has been working with me to tell her story of sexual abuse at the hands of her stepfather. Here’s the last blog post about it.
It was broadcast at the top of the Outlook programme and featured on the front pages of BBC News online as an audio slideshow of her photos and the BBC World Service front page (now in the highlights).
It also was included in the highlights of the week for the BBC multimedia team.
It was been generating comment on forums outside the BBC including here and here.
I have also had a few personal emails about its content. It certainly is a disturbing account which has been therapeutic for Fatima. This is what she says of working with Your Story on this ..
I really felt so much better after the report, I think recording my voice and writing all these things down made me feel lighter. Now it has given me the chance to be able to concentrate on other things besides the abuse and just start a new project. There is something therapeutic about hearing the sadness of my own voice.
In addition to Fatima herself speaking, she also recorded her lawyer who explained how she won her case for asylum in the States – a rare occurrence. Also, Fatima’s friend – who has helped her so much, recorded her thoughts. I’m posting these two interviews on this blog as I think it adds very much to what Fatima is saying.
Listen to Fatima’s lawyer here – 5 mins 8 secs
Listen to Fatima’s friend in the USA here.
(please note these two audio files are hosted on external sites – the BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.)
Photos by Fatima
I’ve been working with a woman who’s been telling me about the abuse she suffered in her strict family in Abu Dhabi.
When she finally found the courage to tell her mother what was happening to her, the reaction she got was denial and shame. Denial that this could ever happen and shame on the family if anything should come out about it.
It’s a common reaction, but hasn’t been widely talked about – as far as I can see – in Muslim communities.
There is a conference going on in Riyadh this week (and I’m trying to get a delegate to blog here for you) which is looking at this issue – and child marriage. You don’t have to make a great leap to see the connection.
This article in the Saudi Gazette talks about how a 10-year old girl was married off by her father and that “it is common for a married girl to become pregnant at an incredibly young age. “
If Sharia law allows child marriage, isn’t it also saying that having sex with a child is OK?
Last month, the grand mufti, Sheikh Abdul Aziz Aal Al Sheikh, is reported to have said,
“If a girl exceeds 10 or 12 then she is eligible for marriage, and whoever thinks she is too young, then he or she is wrong and has done her an injustice.”
Do you find these words – if said- shocking ? Or , as unpalatable as it may be, is he merely upholding tradition ?
There is though, news now of an acknowledgement that child abuse is actually going on. Princess Adela bint Abdullah (who’s dad is King Abdullah) is there at the conference.
Also some action – detailed here in the Arab News says girls are going to get training to counsel families about child abuse.
Unfortunately that help wasn’t available for the Your Story citizen journalist who is recording her experiences at the moment, as an abuse victim in Abu Dhabi. You’ll be able to hear her words in the next week or so.
In the meantime, if you’d like to talk about anything I’ve raised in this post, or have any experiences to share, then we’d both be interested in hearing it.
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