I used to love someone.
We worked together.
I really admired his personality.
He asked for my hand in marriage,
But my parents rejected him,
Because he was from a different social class.
I had a feeling he was ambitious,
And that he’d amount to something.
When we were engaged,
He was always concerned with the apartment,
And getting it ready.

His mother was very bossy,
And intrusive.
She’d ask how much money I had,
And tell me to buy things.
I ignored all of this,
And we got married.

After the first month of marriage,
We spent the first day of Eid at his grandmother’s house;
Him, his mother, his grandmother, and I.
We got into a heated argument,
And he told me,
“I’ll divorce you.”
“Do it,” I said.
“I hereby divorce you.”
“Okay, then.
I’ll go home and get my things,” I told him.
My father helped us to get the house ready,
And we’re the ones who bought most of the furniture.
“Go with her,
And see what she’s going to take,”
His mother told him.

When we went home,
He apologized,
And we made up.
We stayed at home the remainder of Eid.
His mother made a scene,
Because I didn’t visit them.
We kept having fights,
And each time he would take me home.
Six months later,
We were at his mother’s place,
And we got into an argument.
I left,
And he came after me.
He hit me in the street,
And head-butted me.
I almost lost consciousness.

I stayed with my parents for 3 months.
When we got back together,
We travelled to perform umrah.
Then I found out that he had relations with other women,
And I got pregnant.
His mother’s influence never stopped.
When we’d fight,
He’d leave me at my parents’ house,
While I was pregnant.
It was his mother’s orders.
“It’s known that you should stay with your mother,
During most of your pregnancy.”

I gave birth to my daughter,
And nothing changed.
His mother and sister-in-law,
Are the ones who gave orders.
I couldn’t even take my clothes,
When I’d leave the house.
They wanted to take my daughter while she was still being breastfed.
“We’d love for you to visit us at home,” I told them.
They refused,
And filed lawsuits against me.

When my grandfather passed away,
They visited us at home,
And we put an end to the lawsuits.
I went back home alone.
He didn’t even bother to take me there.
I disgraced myself,
Just because I wanted to leave my parents’ house.
He became worse when I went back home.
He even forced me to pay for half of everything.
He became worse,
And would drink every Thursday.
I’d wake up from his smell at night.

He cheated on me with another woman.
The three of us worked at the same place.
I stayed quiet.
We separated,
But stayed in the same house.
I would make him food to break his fast during Ramadan,
And he’d go out and leave me alone.
We got into an argument one day,
And he hit me,
So I hit him back.
I slapped him.
He took my daughter,
And I ran after him.
We got into the car,
And he took me to the police station,
To file a report against me for hitting him.
“They’ll figure out the truth,” I told him.
He took me back home.
I found out three months later,
That he filed the report behind my back.

We got into another fight two weeks later.
He cursed me with the nastiest words.
He called my parents,
And he and my father cursed each other.
“I’m taking our daughter,” he told me.
I left with him,
Just for my daughter.
The entire way he kept cursing and threatening me.
I opened the door,
And ran.
He ran after me.
Some people helped me,
And put me in a taxi.
I went to my parents’ house.

He and his male relatives,
Came to our building to take my daughter.
I took my daughter,
And ran to my grandfather’s house.
He and his family kept cursing us,
And made a scene at my parents’ building.
He filed a theft report,
Against me and my mother.

My car was in the family’s garage.
I couldn’t take it except after 3 months.
This all happened two years ago,
And the lawsuits are still ongoing.
He humiliated me at work,
And at our daughter’s nursery.
He’d call schools and tell them,
“If you enroll my daughter,
I’ll file a lawsuit against you.”
I took my clothes little by little.
There are a lot of valuable things I never got back,
In addition to my furniture,
My china, etc.

Whenever I’d file for divorce,
They’d tell me that he was going to give me back my things,
So I’d stop the lawsuit.
But now I’ve filed for divorce,
And I’m close to winning the case.
May God compensate me and my daughter,
And take revenge on him.