Fatema Mishimou from Bangladesh.
Presently working with asylum seekers & refugees at a NGO in Cyprus
I was sexually abused in several occasions during my childhood. Only in one incident, I happened to speak out. In 1998. I was only 12-year-old. I was being sexually abused by my music tutor repeatedly. He was rubbing my upper thighs every day. I was quite defenseless since my handswere occupied to play the harmonium. I reacted immediately when he touched my breast in one occasion. I stood up and ran away. I shared this with our domestic worker who seemed to have ears of compassion. She conveyed this message to my parents. But, dad ruled, I was just trying to get rid of a good tutor by fabricating such story! He compelled me to return to this tutor to continue my lessons.
So, I faced my tutor all by myself. I told him, I would ask his daughter [my classmate] if he did the same thing to her. I also told him, if she said ‘yes’, I would let him continue doing what he had done. He begged me not to speak to her about this. From that day, he simply disappeared from my life