Esma Abdelhamid

Esma Abdelhamid (* 1960 in Kasserine , Tunisia) is a Tunisian author . She became known through her work Lion Mother , in which she dealt with her twelve-year forced marriage . The Tunisian lived in Hamburg for twelve years without ever seeing the Alster . At the age of 19 she was forcibly married to a compatriot, moved to Hamburg with him, where she was imprisoned and abused by him.

Years of forced marriage

Her father married her to a stranger against her will. After the wedding, her husband brought her to Germany, where he worked as a guest worker. She was not allowed to leave the apartment alone. When her husband came home, she was regularly the victim of his violence for no reason. Esma Abdelhamid suffered from violence, oppression and fear for twelve years. When her husband Abdullah brought their children back to Tunisia, he left his wife Esma with no money and no papers. With the help of a women's shelter and after years of trial, she managed to bring the kidnapped children back to her home.

Awards

She received an award at the »Literature Competition for Illiterates 2005« for her story ›More than a marriage‹.

Publications

• Lion mother. My breakout of 12 years of forced marriage in Germany and the fight for my children; Written down by Marianne Moesle, Krüger Verlag, Dillingen 2008

Web links

• Alone abroad - A Tunisian breaks out of a forced marriage , Deutschlandfunk from February 11, 2008