About Ziverny
After the death of a female relative due to an abusive partner, we, Zaara and Stella, saw the need for substantial course correction in societal norms.
After learning more about domestic violence and its psychological under belly we began to understand why victims cannot easily leave their relationship and gain control of their lives. After extensive communication with lawyers, politicians, M.P’s, government organizations, NGOs, lawmakers, and the police it was clear that although laws are in place to prevent elderly financial abuse and domestic violence the implementation across several communities is impaired because of existing socio-cultural and socio-economic norms.
In our case, the south asian community, as evidenced by the experience of a close family member, has social norms and narratives that make it hard for victims to ask for help, even if they live with nations where domestic abuse is outlawed.
Join us in the journey to eradicate domestic violence by addressing the psychological and cognitive root of this global health concern.
Our Origin Story
Unfortunately, the domestic abuse that our relative experienced is not an isolated event. Domestic abuse is a significantly underreported and unmanaged crime. Our Naheed was a kind, loving mother, sister, daughter, and aunt who was loved by all that knew her. She was also in a 30-year-old abusive marriage. The abuse was emotional, physical and as is the case with many domestic abuse stories, also included control through manipulation, and financial deprivation. Naheed came from a traditional South Asian family. She married at a very young age.
Her husband moved to England from a village in Pakistan after the wedding and the abuse followed shortly after they tied the knot. Initially he is isolating her from her family and friends by insisting they should have more one-on-one time together, canceling plans, and coming up with reasons why she should not see them. If Naheed tried to disagree with him, he would emotionally manipulate her by giving her the silent treatment, or make her feel guilty about neglecting him.
The abuse got worse and his actions got more brazen as the years went by. He would openly cheat on her and would not care about the hurt she felt or the humiliation she would suffer if their friends and family found out about it. He had no problem with being physically abusive to her in front of their kids. During one such incident, their teenage daughter confronted him about the abuse, and he responded by saying “she was his wife and he can do whatever he wants to her.” No one should be able to control you or your finances. It is an integral human right to have decision making power over your own life. Our aim is to make sure that more women in the world know this and can stand up for themselves.