The Best Online Support Groups For Divorce

For romantics, divorce is one outcome we don't want to ever think about or have happen. But it is a reality for a lot of women who have come to the end of the road in their marriage. No matter what your reasons were for the split, divorce can be a troubling time. All of a sudden you find yourself in new and unfamiliar territory- you might not have been on your own for many years, and it can leave you feeling like your world has been flipped 180 degrees. With any new chapter in life, it can be scary stepping into the unknown.

Pregnant Woman Stoned to Death by Family for Marrying Against Their Wishes

Farzana Parveen, who was three months pregnant, was stoned to death by her own family in front of a high court in Pakistan for getting married without their consent, to the man of her choosing. Several members of Farzana's family, including her father and brothers, attacked her with batons and bricks in broad daylight and they killed her before a crowd of onlookers.

When Are You Having Children?

Some people keep saying how surprised they were, and still are that I came out about my infertility. For some, it's the whole religious "confess positively", which I actually understand, but by putting it out there, I believe I' getting even more positive thoughts and prayers from you guys, right? And for the others I have this following answer. It is easier to say it than to try to avoid the question and comments that almost always come when people  know you're married for up to a year.

"When are you going to have kids?"

"Are you pregnant, you look pregnant?"

"You like ice cream and chocolate? You must be pregnant!"

Atala and I celebrated four years of marriage last February, and we do not have kids. My infertility story is on this blog [read here], but on this post, I'll like to look at how  people's attitudes about marriage, pregnancy and infertility may affect women and couples trying to concieve via ART, IVF, or building their family through adoption

I want to talk about the unrelenting questions and insinuations childless women receive and how much it can hurt, confuse and pressure their marriages and the decisions they make.

The Place of Women in Marriage and Parenting

There's a saying that we're the product of the environment in which we grew up. I want to add that we're also who we are; we are unique and sometimes we are different or weird. I grew up in a sheltered home, a typical Nigerian home you may say. My parents were both working class, and Christian. They knew what they wanted of and from us children and they would do their best to see that we toed the line.

I knew it wasn't easy on them, they both worked very hard and sacrificed some things to make sure we were OK. My parents enrolled us in the best schools and after-school lessons, and they would spend their time to tutor us in our studies, help us with homework, or simply see that we did it. I appreciated this aspect of their parenting and it is what has helped me to be who I am today.

But there was another side of the strict upbringing that chafed on my personality. I felt restricted and forced to do some things I didn't want to. From the earliest I can remember, I hardly made any decisions for myself; everything was controlled by my parents. The clothes I wore, when and how to cut my hair, the friends I was allowed to have, and when I could visit them, if at all, all were decisions made my my parents.