Businesswoman Opens Up About Leaving Forced Arranged Marriage to Pursue Education & Entrepreneurship

• A stunning businesswoman from Canada has taken to social media to speak about getting an education and starting a company after leaving an unwanted arranged marriage
• Maria Malik says that she was forced to marry and live in Pakistan when she was only 17
• Years later, she finally managed to leave her unhappy marriage and became the first woman in her family to have a degree, a job, and her own public speaking business

A beautiful and goal-orientated entrepreneur from Canada has opened up on social media about leaving a forced teen marriage and becoming the first female in her family to have a degree, a job, and her own company.

Maria Malik was only 17 years old when her parents arranged for her to get married. Although she did not want to be a young bride, the woman notes that as an introvert, she was too scared to defy her parents’ wishes.

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In her post, she said that her parents thought they were doing what was best for her, although she was gravely unhappy with the situation.

“Even though I knew this was not what I wanted, I stayed silent. I am an introvert. I didn’t want to make my parents upset,” she added.

Maria notes that because she didn’t speak out, she was married off to a man she didn’t know and was forced to live in a land away from her family, friends, and everything she knew.

“I felt trapped and alone, and worst of all, I felt like this was my fate. Throughout all of this, I had lost my confidence. Two years later, I returned to Canada to visit my family,” she said.

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The brave lady then decided to tell her parents that she no longer wanted to be married. She explained that she needed to take a leap of faith to stand up for herself.

“I got a lot of backlash from my parents and even worse from the Pakistani community, but I finally started speaking up and explained that I was very unhappy and that getting an education was important to me,” she said.

“I explained that I didn’t just want to be a wife, I wanted to be somebody. It took years, but eventually, my parents understood and knew it had been a terrible mistake getting me married at 17,” she added.

Pursuing an education

After finally divorcing, Maria graduated from high school, obtained a degree, started her own business, travelled the world, and is now married to the man of her dreams.

The entrepreneur is also completing her master’s degree and started her own public speaking coaching business, that aims to help people use their voice and be assertive.

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“My biggest regret was that I didn’t use my voice when I should have, which is why I now help people get over the fear of public speaking so that they can have the confidence to speak too,” she said.

Proud Mzansi woman shares heartwarming story of resilience after bagging her very first job, people clap

In another inspiring story by Briefly News, a young woman could not contain her excitement after receiving a call which informed her that she had gotten a job. She then decided to share the fantastic employment news with the world.

The people of Mzansi were inspired by the lady’s story and wished her endless blessings and growth in her new job.

Source: Briefly News