Family

Your parents or legal guardians have responsibility for you until you reach the age of 18. But they aren’t allowed to decide everything. You have the right to be present and make decisions that affect your life. Get help from someone else if you feel that your family wants to decide on or control your life.

In some families or extended families, it’s important that no-one brings dishonour to the family. There may be rules within the family or extended family, for example that a girl is not allowed to have sex before she is married. This means that she can’t have a boyfriend, or spend her free time with boys. This is known as honour-related violence or oppression and it’s illegal. It is also a breach of your human rights and the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.

Farman used to monitor everything his sisters did. But then he met a girl who had been the victim of honour-based oppression. Because of that, Farman began to think in a new way.

My family decides almost everything I do. There are a lot of things I'm not allowed to do. I wasn't allowed to go on the school trip, and I'm not allowed to meet up with friends. If they suspect I haven't gone straight home from school, they get really angry and threaten me.

I can't be myself in my family. They don't accept that I dress in tight clothes. They don't think it's right for me because I'm a boy. When I've worn clothing that I like, I've been yelled at and threatened.

Reza and Aliyah want to be together, but they’re worried that Reza’s family won’t accept their relationship.