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Community shuns woman who exposed her husband

Last month, Khaleej Times broke a story about the 27-year old Tasneem, a mother of four, who had been forced into prostitution by her husband for four long years. But after the story was published, the community reacted to it negatively, and no one came to her rescue. Instead, many fingers were pointed at her, and she was accused of lying, proving that when a woman garners enough courage to fight a social evil, she is rebuked by negative reaction from the society.

On the other hand, several people have called, albeit cautiously, to help her out financially. At present, the case of her husband, Shabbir Ahmed, has been referred to Ajman Court and might take long to be resolved.

"My relatives are still pestering me to withdraw the case because they know that my husband will be found guilty, and he might have to serve a long sentence," says Tasneem, adding: "They are trying to lure me with offers of property and money. Though I do not know what my future is, I will never accept what they are saying."

The only support that Tasneem has is from a group of neighbours, who have stood by her and confirmed that whatever she said was the truth. "We suspected some fishy kind of activity going on in that house, but we never had enough evidence until Tasneem asked us for help," say her neighbours.

"I did not expect this kind gesture from my neighbours. But now, these are the only people that I can rely on. I have no idea what is going on regarding my husband’s case. Occasionally, I visit the Ajman police station and they tell me that they will call me soon," she said.

She says that the money her husband hoarded had also been taken by the police. "I need the money now to survive here until the case reaches a conclusion," she said.

Originally hailing from a village in Gujrat, Pakistan, Tasneem was married to Shabbir Ahmed for over 12 years. She came to the UAE four years ago, and settled down with him near Dhaid, and it was then that he used her as a means to earn some extra bucks.

Tasneem accused her husband of forcing her into prostitution by beating her black and blue and blackmailing her emotionally. "I pleaded with him every day, but he used to bring three to four people every day, and sell me for Dh50 each," she had said in an earlier interview.

"My children underwent the horror of seeing their mother being beaten up and used everyday," she said.

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