This month’s interview is about changing the social stigma of divorce. I am interviewing a beautiful 40-year-old woman. She studied criminology and works as an outpatient counsellor. In a world without corona, she likes to eat with friends and family, dance, learn to make snacks that she also likes, and she enjoys watching horror movies and documentaries about serial killers. She got married at a young age and divorced after 15 years of marriage.
I am very curious about your perception of marriage before you got married. How did you feel about marriage? What are the ideas and expectations you grew up with?
As a woman I was aware that I had to leave the house married. I was not allowed to date boys. My uncles said to me “I’m going to find you a boy”, but I didn’t want to. I said I would find him myself. If I compare my upbringing with my brother, he was allowed to do everything. He could party and hang out until late.
I honestly had no expectations of marriage or a picture of marriage. I was a teenager and still attending school. I was busy with that. I had a boyfriend and when I got caught, I was forced to marry him. I suggested moving in together, but my mother said “no, you are going to leave the house as a married woman and what you do after that is up to you.”
So, you had no expectations of marriage? I find that notable because I had an image of marriage at that age. A very romantic one, haha.
