صوت المرأة العربية The Voice of Arab Women

Following the death of Prophet Mohammed, the respected status of women granted by the Qur'an has been replaced by a horrible rigid dogma due to interpretations by all men scholars and jurists, most of whom were converts. The result is stories like this. "At the age of 16, I was forced to marry my relative who lives in London. I thought that my dreams were coming true and this man would grant me all that I ever wished for. Since I've been here I have been on my own, raising my children by myself. I only meet people he chooses for me to meet and he forbids me from leaving the house by myself. I cry my eyes out and beg for him to allow me to study anything at least English, but he has always refused. I have reached a point where I have begun to hate myself and hate my own children. He makes me wear the full Islamic dress although I already wear a headscarf and have always been decently dressed. Intimacy moments with him last for minutes and I loath them and loath myself when he touches me with no feelings whatsoever. How can I raise my children, when I myself have been deprived of learning? I don't know what to do or where to go to. And this is what I got from living in Britain."