Author(s): Jasvinder Sanghera

Biography

Shame is the heart-rending true story of a young girl's escape from a nightmare. Overwhelmed and alone, Jasvinder was 15 when she ran away from home to escape a forced marriage to a much older man she'd never met. She had to move constantly, ever wary of being tracked down for betraying her family's honour. Her three years in hiding ended with the news that her sister Robina had committed suicide by setting herself alight - because she was being so badly abused by her husband. At the funeral the family ostracised Jasvinder and twenty years later, her sisters still refuse to speak to her. Jasvinder has since educated herself, become a parent and founded a shelter for women fleeing their families in similar circumstances - and in many cases, fearful for their lives. Even today, she still receieves threats on the lives of her children from the families of the women she cares for. This is her story.