Posted in: Love and Sex, Tattle

How we met: ‘My family wanted an arranged marriage, but I couldn’t bear the idea’

Namerah, 25, and Farhan, 30, met in 2014 while they were both studying in Malaysia. They now live in Bangladesh with their two cats

After growing up in Saudi Arabia, Namerah moved to Kuala Lumpur to study for her A-levels in 2014. “I’m from a Pakistani family and had a very strict upbringing where men and women were always segregated,” she says. “I would have to ask my dad or brothers to take me out if I wanted to leave the house.”

When she was sent to Malaysia, it opened her eyes to a new world. “I loved having freedom, like making friends and doing mundane things like buying my own groceries and riding the train. It was the first time I went out alone.”

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