The following email was sent to Pamela Geller who forwarded it to me.

Hi Pamela

I’m Halima from Sri Lanka. I’m 14 and I don’t want to live with my family. Please help me, Every time I go out of the house I’m supposed to cover my self which I don’t like doing. My mum hits me or she says she’s not going to take me out of the house if I don’t wear the shawl. My second elder Bro and my mum are sought of religious and It’s really annoying cause I can’t do what I want to. I sometimes feel that maybe I should go to the National child protection authority But then I’m scared that they may send me back home. :( Please help me! i want to away from my house. I’m scared if I do , my mum might tell all my aunties and uncles and all the Muslims in Sri Lanka would get to know and I guess I’ll be in danger…… I want to remain Muslim (a moderate Muslim) Please tell me what I can do..PLEASE :’(

Thank you

Halima

 

Dear Halima,

The only consolation I can give you is that you are not alone.  Countless other young kids, mostly girls, suffer in Islamic countries.  When my sister was 14 she used to sew her cloths and used her creativity to make them look different. I am two years older and as a bigoted young boy I did not like the way she dressed. I instigated my father to stop her dressing those cloths. They were not revealing. They only attracted attention and that was not something this brainwashed follower of Allah could tolerate. I had to defend my bloody ghira.  We gave her so much hard time that she got a taxi and told the driver to take her to an institution where she can seek protection.  I don’t know if there was any such institution in Iran at that time. In any case she did not know it and neither the taxi driver. He took her to his home and his wife consoled her. For a day we did not know where she had gone. It was a real hell for us. Then the taxi driver came to our house and told that my sister is safe with his wife. When he made sure we are not going to honor kill her he brought her back.

Believe it or not we were moderate and not fanatical.  A few years after that all of us came out of Iran.  Religious stupidity left us and we became civilized, like normal people.  My sister went to university. She found a bright English man with whom she dated first and then got married. She now has three beautiful daughters all going to university and my father couldn’t be more pleased with her.

Decades have passed and when I think about it, I shake my head in disbelief. How could I act so stupid? What if something bad happened to her? Who but me and my parents would have been responsible? It was all because of religious brainwashing and the idiotic Islamic patriarcal culture where women are seen as sex objects that have to be hidden and not attract attention.

Your parents and your brothers are brainwashed. But don’t be saddened. Give time a chance.  When you are young time seems to go by very slowly and everything is more dramatic. But really a few years is nothing. You have your whole life in front of you.  Be patient and use these years to get a good degree and nurture your mind.  Learn the truth about Islam. Read Pamela’s blog and if you can access my blogs, alisina.org and faithfreedom.org read them too.  Keep your thoughts to yourself. Don’t share them with others, not even with your best friends.  Focus on your studies. Education is your ticket to freedom.  If you can go to a western country for higher studies, you will have your freedom sooner. If your family can’t afford it, don’t worry. Continue your higher studies in Sri Lanka. Get the best education you can. This will allow you to find a good job and live your life independently. Don’t let your parents force you to marriage and don’t think a marriage is your way out of your parental home and freedom. This could turn to be an even worse nightmare.  Once you are educated and have a good job. Get out of your parental home and live independently.  Then find a good man whose brain is not damaged by religion and form your own loving family that is based on equality.

Your suffering is nothing when compared to the suffering of millions of other Muslim girls who are forced to marry often an old man, because their parents can’t afford feeding them or are sold by their own parents. They become complete slaves with no future in front of them.

Wearing the veil is oppressive, but it is not the end of the world. Get a good education. That will give you your freedom.  Hopefully your parents and your brothers will also come out of their ignorance and realize the silliness of their action.

 

Wish you the best

Ali Sina

Spread The Word! Share it: