Nameeyla
Statement

I come from a very strict Muslim family and this past summer I got a tattoo which, if you know, is forbidden in Islam. As a child I would always question about the point of religion and why I would be judged by 'Allah' if everything was predestined for me. I knew there was a flaw in what I was taught but nevertheless, I still went to the mosque. My mother decided to take us to Somalia (yes, one of the most dangerous countries in the world) this year to try and get us back to our "culture & religion" but I've realized that I reject Islam. There are no rights for women here in Somalia and the misogyny and sexism are rife. What's even more frustrating is that I, as an educated young woman I experience misogyny from my male family members every day simply for the fact that I have a vagina and the 'Quran' makes it clear that women are not 'equal' to men. My own mother has started to force me and my sister to do other (male) cousins chores in our own house simply because we are women and it's our 'duty'. From her own mouth, she said 'you're worth half of what a man is' and she wholeheartedly supports this claim. I cannot (as I fear for my life as the penalty for apostasy in Somalia is death) tell her or any of my family members, I'm no longer a Muslim. They have made it apparent that anyone who leaves Islam should be put to death. For a while, I thought I was the only one who was the only ex Muslim alive but now I know I'm not alone. There are others who have seen the light.