Help Mia and Her Kids: Life After Divorce
Fundraising campaign by
SW Kok
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SG$660.00raised of SG$1,000.00 goal goal
No more donations are being accepted at this time. Please contact the campaign owner if you would like to discuss further funding opportunities
Campaign Story
IMPORTANT: You do not need a Paypal account. The Paypal account I set up for this accepts credit cards. Paypal may ask you for your phone number, and you have to key in your number in a particular format for it to go through. For example, if your number is 012-3456789, you should key in +60 123456789, with a space between the country code and your number.
Hi, I am Kok Sen Wai, a West Malaysian currently living in Kuching and I share this in my capacity as a private citizen hoping to make a small difference for a fellow Malaysian in need, I met a woman recently and heard her life story. We shall call her Mia to protect her privacy.
When she was in her early 20's, she was raped by a drug addict. Not only did her parents not help her seek justice—they pressed her to marry the rapist against her wishes. She said her parents cared more about their family honour than her happiness, and as soon as she gave birth to his child, she petitioned for a divorce and it was granted. She said that living as a single mother in her community is not easy. She said that women like her are considered to be wanton, and if left unchecked, would be out seducing other people's husbands. Wanting to make a life for herself and her child, she worked full time for some years and applied for a scholarship to further her studies, and to her surprise, she got it. Her child is about 5 years old at this point in time.
However, her mother—unhappy that her wayward daughter gave up her respectable marriage to a junkie rapist to live a life of a disreputable single working mother, forbade her from taking up the scholarship. Instead, she arranged a marriage with someone the community considered to be a good religious man. Again, Mia consented because she said in her culture, she had to respect her parent's wishes.
Mia continued working full-time. Soon, she gave birth to a pair of twins but she stayed employed because her husband was not helping her financially despite earning more than her. She sometimes have to ask for small amounts (50 bucks or so) at the end of the month just to make ends meet but she said more often than not, she would have to give her husband money to help with his debts. She was expected to be responsible for 100% of housework, cooking and childcare as that was her role as a good wife. Working full time, she often had to buy takeaway for her husband and children with her own money, just to fulfill her role in feeding her family.
She said that the one bright spot in her life was her workplace, where she had a lot of friends. But her husband felt that it is improper for her to be so social and forced her to change her job—and she complied because she said in her community, a wife has to listen and submit to the authority of her husband. She became miserable after that because she has no friends in this new place and her new boss apparently grew to hate her for taking many medical leaves. She took those leaves because she had started seeking help in a Psychiatric Clinic.
This week, after 4 years of marriage, she received a call to attend a meeting and found out there that her husband is divorcing her. The reason her husband gave was because she was not performing her duties at home to his satisfaction. She countered, saying that he did not fulfill his responsibility as a husband and did not give her nafkah. In spite of counselling, Mia and her husband proceeded with the divorce because, as Mia put it, "It is his right as a man".
She is pregnant—in the 2nd trimester—with this man's 3rd child (her 4th) right now. It is agreed that he will buy only milk powder and diapers for the twins, and nothing more. I asked her if she intended to seek for spousal/child support, but she said the process is long and expensive and even if she gets it eventually, it wouldn't help her when she needed it most. Mia's mother was furious at Mia for ruining her marriage with this respectable man she arranged and blamed her for shirking her duty as a good wife.
This is what our society does to women. Rapists get away unpunished. Husbands get away with trying to force their wives into domestic slavery while contributing nothing to the family. Women are unjustly blamed, sometimes by their own mothers. I hear variations of this story almost everyday.
This is why I decided to see if I can help Mia and her kids. With her permission, I had shared her story anonymously on social media and it had gotten a substantial amount of attention and sympathy as her story resonated with many Malaysians, and many have asked how they can help—so I started this crowdfunding page to make it happen.
I thank you for reading.
Organizer
- SW Kok
- Campaign Owner
Meeting Mia
Update posted by SW Kok at 02:43 pmDue to a series of unforeseen circumstances, I only managed to meet Mia properly today. Here's what's going on with her life now (shared with her permission):She had decided to pass the care of her oldest child to his paternal grandmother who loved the kid very much, while she is. . . . .
Mia has delivered!
Update posted by SW Kok at 05:30 amI have received news that Mia had delivered her youngest child over the weekend and later this afternoon, I shall be meeting her to pass the donation money to her! Stay tuned!
Donors & Comments
- Anonymous
- Donated on Apr 22, 2017
Semoga Allah membantu Mia. Dia melihat semuanya yang dibuat orang, lebih-lebih lagi atas Nama-Nya sendiri.
- Guest
- Donated on Apr 19, 2017
- Anonymous
- Donated on Apr 07, 2017
- Anonymous
- Donated on Apr 07, 2017
- Grace Chin
- Donated on Apr 07, 2017
- Chee Hou Kok
- Donated on Apr 07, 2017
- Anonymous
- Donated on Apr 07, 2017
Stay strong.
- Anonymous
- Donated on Apr 07, 2017
- Anonymous
- Donated on Apr 07, 2017
- Anonymous
- Donated on Apr 05, 2017
Semoga Allah membantu Mia. Dia melihat semuanya yang dibuat orang, lebih-lebih lagi atas Nama-Nya sendiri.