NASIMA KHAN
Nasima Khan, director of the Asian Women Lone Parents Association (AWLPA), London

In 1999 Nasima's marriage broke down and she suffered from isolation and depression. She sought support and opportunity to meet other women in her situation to begin to learn how to be a single parent and to get through the process of a devastating divorce. Shame and stigma are the dominant discourse that follows a divorce in the Asian community and she found no help within her community. So Nasima and with her sister decided to set up Khanom, a self-help group to offer Asian women a safe space to meet and provide support to each other.

Asian communities are experiencing relationship crisis unlike any other time in history and some of these are manifesting in domestic violence, forced marriages and mental health problems. Nasima was outraged by the marginalisation and ostracisation of lone mothers and set up AWLPA as a platform from which issues can be debated. The association aims to empower Asian women who are lone parents and now pioneers social change. The association does not just deal with divorce but all areas that concern women such as depression, domestic violence, housing, employment and the association is raising the women's voice in financial support where their ex-husband is paying minimal payments whilst working 'off the record' in the family business. It has not been easy bringing up her daughter on her own and meeting resistance for her work from members of the Bengali community.

Currently Nasima is training to be a family therapist and her research into the situation of Asian women who are divorced will be published later this year as part of her MSc in Health Education.

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