I’m still living my story.
It started when baba made me break off my engagement,
To the man I loved,
Because they had a disagreement.
“God will be pleased with you,
Because you’re doing as I say,” he told me.

My cousin asked for my hand in marriage,
And baba convinced me to marry him.
Baba agreed to all their conditions,
And I don’t understand why.
I even ended up living in an apartment that belonged to his family
And that’s when all the problems started.

I used to work.
He made me provide for myself and the house.
We lived abroad,
And whenever we had any problems,
He threatened to divorce me,
Send me back to Egypt,
And not provide for me.
He recently told me that he gave up our apartment,
For his brother to get married in.
Why?
That’s just how it is.

He knew I was selling all my gold jewellery.
He knew I worked all day and night,
And that I deprived myself of all pleasures in life,
To save up for a deposit for an apartment’s,
Even though he had the money,
But his parents told him not to buy one,
So he didn’t.

My husband eventually gave all his money to his brother.
It was his life’s savings.
He put it in his brother’s bank account,
Again, for no clear reason.
My husband is a mama’s boy.
I want to get a divorce,
But I can’t,
Because he’s my sponsor in this foreign country.
If he divorces me,
He’ll send me back to Egypt,
And I won’t be able to provide for myself,
And he won’t provide for my son.