Nafiseh Ghafournia (author) - Faith in Freedom: Muslim Immigrant Women Experiences of Domestic Violence

Faith in Freedom

Nafiseh Ghafournia

MELBOURNE UNIVERSITY PUBLISHING

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First published 2019

Text Nafiseh Ghafournia 2019

Design and typography Melbourne University Publishing Limited, 2019

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Text design by Phil Campbell

Cover design by Phil Campbell

Front cover photograph Joel Tasche

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Printed in Australia by OPUS Group

9780522874273 (paperback)

9780522874280 (hardback)

9780522874297 (ebook)

MUP ISLAMIC STUDIES SERIES

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ISS Editor

Board of Advisors

Associate Professor Syed Farid Alatas

Department of Sociology, National University of Singapore

Professor Howard V. Brasted

Director, UNE Asia Pacific Centre

Emeritus Professor Robert E. Elson

School of History, Philosophy, Religion and Classics, University of Queensland

Professor John Esposito

Director, Prince Alwaleed bin Talal Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding, University Professor of Religion and International Affairs, Georgetown University

Emeritus Professor Riaz Hassan AM, FASSA

ARC Australian Professorial Fellow, Department of Sociology, Flinders University

Professor Robert Hefner

Institute on Culture, Religion and World Affairs, Boston University

Professor Michael Humphrey

Chair, Department of Sociology and Social Policy, School of Philosophical and Historical Inquiry, University of Sydney

Professor William Maley AM

Director, Asia-Pacific College of Diplomacy, Australian National University

Professor James Piscatori

Centre for Arab and Islamic Studies (The Middle East and Central Asia), Australian National University

Professor Abdullah Saeed

Sultan of Oman Professor of Arab and Islamic Studies, Director, National Centre of Excellence for Islamic Studies, University of Melbourne

Professor Amin Saikal AM

Director, Centre for Arab and Islamic Studies (The Middle East and Central Asia), Australian National University

Professor Samina Yasmeen AM

Director, Centre for Muslim States and Societies, School of Social and Cultural Studies, University of Western Australia

I dedicate this book to the fourteen courageous women interviewed for this study

First and foremost, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to the fourteen women who courageously agreed to share their stories and generously gave their time to participate in this study. Particularly, I would like to thank those women who had just left their abusers and experienced much trauma and sadness, but still insisted on being interviewed in the hope of contributing to change in their or other survivors lives. This research could not have been possible without them and their help. They were all amazing, strong and brave women, and each of them will hold a unique place in my heart forever. I cried with them, sat with them for hours, and listened to their stories. This book is dedicated to these survivors, in the hope that these findings will make a difference.

I undertook the research for this book as a PhD student at the University of Sydney. Special thanks to my supervisors, Associate Professor Susan Goodwin, who first suggested I submit a book proposal, and Associate Professor Lesley Laing for their continuous support and encouragement and valuable feedback throughout the various steps in this research. They brought with them an extensive knowledge of the field of domestic violence research and an ability to provide the most direct and honest comments throughout the dissertation process.

I also gratefully acknowledge the financial and administrative support from the University of Sydney, the Faculty of Education and Social Work and the Scholarship Office for its grant through the Australian Postgraduate Award.

I would also like to thank the service providers who contributed to this study. They connected me with others in their networks, referred their clients to participate in the study and provided venues for conducting the interviews. In particular, I am very grateful to two case workers, Ms Miza Torlakovic and Ms Afagh Afaridan, in two migrant resource centres (one in Newcastle and one in Sydney) and one womens refuge manager in Sydney who continuously provided support during the process of data collection and participant recruitment. Their knowledge, experience and compassion have been invaluable resources for me and for the community as a whole.

Special thanks to Melbourne University Publishing staff, and in particular Catherine McInnis who helped through different publication stages of my book, and Vesna Rapajic who did such a great job in editing and changing the work from formal dissertation to a more readable book, ensuring that the womens voices remain intact.

Finally, I would like to acknowledge all of the support and encouragement provided by friends and family members, especially my husband Hamed Hosseini, who supported me through the very difficult moments, always encouraging me to grow and develop intellectually. I am also grateful to my beautiful daughter Ayeh for her patience and fortitude. Also, special thanks to my parents and my two beautiful sisters for all their encouragement and support.

Nafiseh Ghafournia
November, 2018

Violence against women has pervasive and traumatic effects on all womens lives; for victims from immigrant backgrounds the situation can often be particularly complex. While there is a growing literature that reflects this complexity, much remains unknown about the experiences of abused immigrant women from different cultural and ethnic backgrounds in Australia. Studies examining the experiences of abused Muslim immigrant women in Australia are even more limited. Nevertheless, it is widely acknowledged that cultural values and immigration status can exacerbate the complexities involved in domestic and family violence situations.