Humayra Abedin (born 2 March 1976) is a Bangladeshi doctor of medicine who worked for the

National Health Service The National Health Service (NHS) is the term for the publicly funded health care, publicly funded healthcare systems of the United Kingdom: the National Health Service (England), NHS Scotland, NHS Wales, and Health and Social Care (Northern ...

in the United Kingdom and became a

cause célèbre A ( , ; pl. ''causes célèbres'', pronounced like the singular) is an issue or incident arousing widespread controversy, outside campaigning, and heated public debate. The term is sometimes used positively for celebrated legal cases for th ...

after her parents tried to force her into marriage and held her captive until she was freed by court order

Education and career

Abedin was born and brought up in

Dhaka Dhaka ( or ; , ), List of renamed places in Bangladesh, formerly known as Dacca, is the capital city, capital and list of cities and towns in Bangladesh, largest city of Bangladesh. It is one of the list of largest cities, largest and list o ...

Bangladesh Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world and among the List of countries and dependencies by ...

. She is the only child of her parents, Mohammad Joynal Abedin, (born 1932), a retired businessman who at that time owned a clothing factory and several shops, and Begum Sofia Kamal, (born 1941), a housewife. She studied at

Viqarunnisa Noon School and College Viqarunnisa Noon School & College (), also known as VNSC, is an all-girls secondary school and college in Dhaka, Bangladesh. It has about 25,000 students at four campuses in the city. It is named after Viqar un Nisa Noon. History The school be ...

in Dhaka before training as a

doctor Doctor, Doctors, The Doctor or The Doctors may refer to: Titles and occupations * Physician, a medical practitioner * Doctor (title), an academic title for the holder of a doctoral-level degree ** Doctorate ** List of doctoral degrees awarded b ...

Dhaka Medical College Dhaka Medical College and Hospital (DMCH) is a public medical college and hospital located in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Established in 1946, the college houses a medical school as well as a tertiary care hospital on its campus. History Site during ...

. In September 2002, she came to England to study for a master's degree in

public health Public health is "the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health through the organized efforts and informed choices of society, organizations, public and private, communities and individuals". Analyzing the de ...

at the

University of Leeds The University of Leeds is a public research university in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It was established in 1874 as the Yorkshire College of Science. In 1884, it merged with the Leeds School of Medicine (established 1831) and was renamed Y ...

. In 2008, she was training to become a

general practitioner A general practitioner (GP) is a doctor who is a Consultant (medicine), consultant in general practice. GPs have distinct expertise and experience in providing whole person medical care, whilst managing the complexity, uncertainty and risk ass ...

Whipps Cross Hospital Whipps Cross University Hospital is a large university hospital in the locality of Whipps Cross in Leytonstone and is within Epping Forest in the London Borough of Waltham Forest, London, England. It is managed by Barts Health NHS Trust. Histo ...

East East is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the fact that ea ...

London. She moved to London and was training to become a registrar at a GP surgery in east London.

Legal case

Abedin's Muslim family became angry after they learned she had a long-term relationship with a Bangladeshi man she met in London, who works as a software engineer. Since May 2008, her family made several attempts to keep her away from him and to force her into marriage. At the end of June 2008, the Metropolitan Police launched an inquiry, after she was held captive in her flat by her mother and uncle, who visited for several days. Her case had also been taken up by Interpol. In August 2008, her family convinced her to return to Bangladesh by claiming her mother was seriously ill. They then hid her passport and plane ticket, and held her captive since 5 August. On 13 August 2008, Abedin was taken from the family home to an ambulance, taken to a private clinic, given drugs and kept there until 5 November 2008. After succeeding in getting messages to her friends to say that she was being held against her will, a series of legal moves were instituted on her behalf. Abedin instructed her lawyers to annul the marriage on her behalf. In December 2008, after her family ignored orders from the Bangladeshi high court to bring Abedin to court. On 5 December 2008, The high court issued an order under the Forced Marriage Act, which makes it illegal to force someone into a marriage against their will. It is thought to be the first time the legislation has been used to help a foreign national who was living abroad. in what is believed to be the first use of the act relating to a foreign national. On 14 December 2008, two judges ruled that she must remain in custody in a court in Dhaka until she returned to Britain. Abedin then flew from Dhaka to London. On 16 December 2008, she arrived in the UK. On 19 December 2008, she won high court protection from any renewed attempts to remove her from the UK. Injunctions were issued against Abedin's parents, a paternal uncle and the man she was allegedly forced to marry. Further orders were granted to protect and prevent Abedin from being removed from the UK again. Abedin refused to press charges against her parents.

References

External links

Statement from Humayra Abedin, NHS doctor forced into marriage in Bangladesh
''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

''. 19 December 2008
Forced marriage: 'I can't forgive or forget what they did to me'
''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

''. 5 July 2009 {{DEFAULTSORT:Abedin, Humayra 1976 births Living people Bangladeshi expatriates in the United Kingdom Bangladeshi general practitioners Physicians from Dhaka People from Upton Park, London Alumni of the University of Leeds Forced marriage Dhaka Medical College alumni Viqarunnisa Noon School and College alumni 21st-century Bangladeshi women

Education and career

Legal case

See also

References

External links