"I was forced to marry my cousin against my will. Since I am the only child of my parents, they married me with a lot of pomp and show and gave me everything in the name of dowry. On the day of my marriage, I was feeling lifeless but for my parents’ sake, I had to accept this relationship.

The disaster started with my wedding night. My husband saw my reluctance as a sign of my relationship with another man. He called me a whore and tortured me mentally and physically.

I tolerated everything so that my parents don’t have to suffer because of me. But then came a point where I couldn’t bear it any more, not for anyone. I filed for a divorce. I tried suicide many a time but was saved.

My saviours don’t know that death is my only refuge.

— Homemaker (female), age 24, from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

Published in Dawn, Sunday Magazine, October 19th, 2014