I was 17 years old when I was forced into an arranged marriage.
My parents thought they were doing what was best for me.
Even though I knew this was NOT what I wanted.
I stayed silent…
I am an introvert.
I didn’t want to make my parents upset.
Because I didn’t use my voice…
I was sent to Pakistan and married off to a man I did not know.
I was away from home (Canada where I was born and raised).
I was away from my friends.
I felt trapped, I felt alone, and worse of all I felt like this was my fate.
Throughout all of this, I had lost my confidence.
2 years later I returned to Canada to visit my family.
I decided I was going to graduate from high school.
I was going to tell my parents I no longer wanted to be married.
It took a lot of guts for me to stand up for myself.
I got a lot of backlash from my parents and even worse from the Pakistani community.
But…
I finally started speaking up.
I explained that I was very unhappy.
I explained that getting an education was important to me.
I explained that I didn’t want to be just a wife, I wanted to be somebody.
It took years, but eventually, my parents understood and knew it had been a terrible mistake getting me married at 17.
Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, I got Divorced.
I graduated from high school.
I then graduated from university.
I became the first woman in my family to get a job.
I became the first woman in my family to travel the world.
I eventually met and married the man of my dreams.
I am now completing my Masters’s degree.
I became the first woman in my family to start my own business.
Looking back my BIGGEST REGRET was that I didn’t use my voice when I should have.
That is why I now help people get over the fear of public speaking so that they can have the confidence to speak too.
Because the only way to get what you want in life is to use your voice.
#motivation #careers #personaldevelopment #education #publicspeaking
#Jummah #Friday #Dua #Peace #Kind #Pray #ALLAH #Life #kindness #Escape_for_ALLAH #struggle #achievement
Spices for life 