As a young girl doted on and pampered by her family, Maheen* always imagined that life with her husband would be a bed of roses, and looked forward to marriage with rose-tinted glasses.
Her dreams were soon shattered. Soon after her wedding, her husband began isolating her from her friends and family, finding fault with those she was closest to. He monitored her phone calls, forbade her to leave the house without his express permission and perpetually kept her on her toes with his mind games. Maheen was only 18 when she got married and her husband, 16 years her senior, soon broke her spirit.
–snip– Dr Haider Ali Naqvi, consultant psychiatrist at Aga Khan University, agrees: “Psychological abuse is more dangerous. One can recover better from physical ailments but mental health recovery takes longer and requires care and sustained help.”
If recognising psychological abuse can be difficult, coming to terms with it can be even more so. Many women continue to make excuses for their husband