faryal gohar jamal shah
(Daily Jurat)Veteran Pakistani actress Faryal Gohar has opened up about the domestic abuse and restrictions she endured during her nine-year marriage to actor Jamal Shah.
Speaking in ashow Gohar discussed her personal experience with domestic violence and the pressures women often face to remain in abusive marriages.Gohar said domestic violence can affect women regardless of their education, independence or social status, noting that even prominent women have experienced abuse behind closed doors.
“I bore violence in my own marriage,” she said, adding that she was not financially dependent on her husband but still faced pressures surrounding her marriage.The actress recalled suffering repeated physical abuse and said the violence was so severe that it contributed to miscarriages.
“How can one give birth to a child when you have been beaten by leather belts every now and then, which caused miscarriages?” she said.The actress also revealed that she had to hide injuries caused by the alleged abuse and sometimes missed her classes because of her wounds.
She further spoke about suffering from kidney pain, saying she eventually underwent surgeries.Beyond the physical abuse, Gohar described the restrictions she allegedly faced during her marriage. She said she was not allowed to leave the house freely or even go for walks.
According to Gohar, she was sometimes required to cover herself with her mother-in-law’s burqa when leaving the house. She also recalled travelling in a covered rickshaw so that she would not be seen by others.Gohar said she was only 23 when she got married and that the marriage had initially been her own choice.
Earlier this year, the former pair appeared on an episode of Shan-e-Suhoor and publicly opened up about the circumstances that led to their divorce in 1992.
At the time, Faryal Gohar said the reason behind their divorce was that Jamal Shah valued his freedom and felt he could not be confined by marriage. Shah had also publicly admitted that he was “not marriage material.”
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