![]() When her family found out about her heroin use, they forced her to visit a pir, a spiritual healer who they hoped would exorcise the bad spirit within in her. ![]() She left her husband and her baby was taken into care. They were on heroin and I used it because I was in a bad place.” I couldn’t just go to the police, so I ended up staying with some friends. “I was pregnant in no time but I didn’t want the baby and I had to get away, but nobody understood me. He wouldn’t even let me go outdoors, he would lock the door,” said Alya, who is streetwise, talkative and most often wears joggers and a sweatshirt. He wanted to control me and did not let me do anything. “He was a right bastard, he raped me almost every day. What is it that makes British Pakistanis from religiously conservative homes end up addicted to heroin and shunned by their family and community?Īlya said she started using maal, a slang word for heroin among British Pakistanis, after a forced marriage badly affected her mental health. ![]() This is largely due to cultural and religious beliefs and the stigma of bringing shame on families within their community.” “A high proportion prefer to address this internally within communities and families. “This group are often insulated and unlikely to want to share experiences with others,” said Sean Ridley, project manager at drug service New Vision Bradford.
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