The family of a woman, who was rescued from her Pakistani husband, says she is not strong enough to face the press.
|||The family of Sajida Sungey, who was rescued from her Pakistani husband who allegedly held her captive in a remote town in Pakistan, has cancelled a press conference at which she was expected to tell her story.
Gift of the Givers founder Imtiaz Sooliman said it was a family decision to cancel the press conference which was due to take place at 11am on Tuesday.
“Sajida is not in a good emotional and medical state presently. Sajida is in no condition to meet with, talk to or be questioned by anyone at this point in time,” said Sooliman.
He said her family decided that she needed space to heal.
“Sajida is grappling with conflicting emotions, and is overwhelmed at the moment.”
Sungey, 37, has been back home with her family for a week since she was rescued on February 9. She last saw her family in May 2010 before she and her two younger children, a son, now two, and daughter, now 11, accompanied her husband to Pakistan. The couple had married in Cape Town and went to Pakistan, leaving behind Sungey’s daughter, now 13.
She and her children were rescued by the SA High Commission and Pakistani police near a small town in the south called Bhara Kahu. The town is near the Afghan border.
In a 10-page statement made at the Bhara Kahu police station, Sungey claimed that she and her 11-year-old daughter were abused by her husband, Raja Sigbhtullah, and were not allowed to return to SA.
Her husband, who did not resist when rescuers arrived, had indicated that he was “culturalising” his wife, who returned to Cape Town last Tuesday escorted by international police. She has been at her mother’s house since then.
Gawa Sayed, Western Cape director for Gift of the Givers, has been in contact with Sungey since her arrival and said she was not doing too well.
“One day she’s okay, and the next she’s in another state of mind,” said Sayed.
She said Sungey had offered to provide her with a written statement for the media during the course of the week.
“She’s prepared to give me her statement, but she’s not prepared to face people. At this moment, she is not strong enough,” said Sayed.
sibongakonke.mama@inl.co.za - Cape Argus