'Puja'
Arranged Marriage
Puja* came to the UK because of her marriage; she married a Pakistani man who was a British Citizen in 2002 and came to the UK to live with him in 2003 with a 1-year-old son and pregnant with her second child. Shortly after the marriage Puja’s relationship with her husband deteriorated and became abusive. Puja’s dream of married life in a new country came to an end.
Domestic Abuse
The abuse came not only from her husband but also her in-laws who lived in the same house (the house belonged to her father-in-law). As time passed Puja began to be treated more like a servant for the family. Her husband would frequently slap her in the face and her mother-in-law would often put her down in front of him but Puja was too scared to tell anyone about the abuse. She then found out that the family was planning to send her back to her parents and keep her son with them in the UK.
Expired Visa
Puja had luckily heard about Shakti’s support and when she came to the office, we were able to allocate her a keyworker. We soon discovered through the initial assessment that Puja’s Spouse visa had expired and she would be seen as an overstayer by the authorities. For Spouse visas, the main sponsor is usually responsible for applying for any extensions or indefinite leave to remain; in this case Puja’s main sponsor, her husband, had deliberately decided not to apply for indefinite leave to remain for her. By leaving the relationship Puja, because of her immigration status, was left with no recourse to public funds i.e. she could not access any benefits.
Isolation
Puja had not been allowed to socialise outwith the family home and had always been kept in the company of her husband and in-laws. She did not speak any English and had no understanding about how systems worked in Scotland. The only thing she had been told by her husband and family was that at any minute the immigration officers would come and deport her; this regular threat from her husband and family was effective in frightening her and preventing her from telling anyone about the abuse.
Support from Shakti
Puja had no money or savings as she has not been allowed to work since her marriage and was now dependant on her husband and his family for money and other practical help. The 1-2-1 sessions with her Shakti keyworker allowed Puja to begin to unpick some of her fears and sense of guilt which was linked to the social stigma of divorced or separated women in black/minority ethnic communities and families. Puja feared that by leaving she would dishonour her family who would likely disown her, and she would be ostracised from the community. Our keyworker helped Puja look at all of her options, helped her discover what her rights were and took her to see an experienced lawyer to get advice about her immigration status. We were very aware of Puja’s fears that word may get out into the community that she was seeking help, revealing the abuse which she had been told to keep private and in the family.
Resolving complicated immigration situations can take many months. Case workers continue to support Puja with both her emotional and practical needs. Puja has put up with an abusive situation because of:
- no knowledge about her rights or how to get help
- not being allowed to communicate with outside agencies by herself
Puja also had to come to terms with strong cultural values that are linked to women’s roles as carers and wives placing, their own needs as secondary to everyone else.
*Puja is not her real name
