Nazreen Bibi was born and raised in the UK in a Mirpuri Sunni Muslim household. During her chiIdhood she was sent off to learn the verbatim account of the Quran, which included teachers who threat*ned v*olence and aggression using kitchen utensils and mullahs based in a semi. Nazreen’s parents insisted on putting a headscarf on her, and during her secondary school years she would take the scarf off during school hours and put it back on when school finished. On her 16th birthday she had hopes of completing A levels and going to university however her parents had other plans. Instead they travelled abroad to Pakistan, and Nazreen was married to her mother’s cousin (her uncle), someone she knew nothing about. She recalls asking her mother if she could say no and her answer was “no, your grandad gave his word” and that was that. Soon after her marriage, her mother told her that she was to do whatever her husband wanted and that if she refused s*x the devil would curse her all night. Nazreen soon became pregnant and gave birth to her daughter at age 17. The following 12 years, Nazreen spent fighting for freedom, freedom to work, freedom to have phone and freedom to wear what she wanted to wear. Fueled with anger at the end of her twelve-year marriage, she could see how religion and culture shaped her parents’ choices and world view, and how the teachings of Islam demanded the total subjugation of women. Nazreen’s parents stopped talking to her after her divorce and so she rebuilt her life as a single parent. Her experience only confirmed what she had now grown to accept in that Islam was designed by men for men. Divorced women were deemed as used goods, a women’s identity and personhood reduced to her reproductive parts and womb. Since her divorce she’s been actively engaged in local politics, completed her degree and runs her own business. Now an exMuslim, Nazreen recently has come out as an atheist, speaking out against the generational religious ab*se Find Nazreen on social media! https://www.tiktok.com/@grumpymirpuri We want to meet you in real life! Come adventure with us on our 2nd C2C VACATION! Click here to go to the official booking page: https://trovatrip.com/trip/north-america/mexico/mexico-with-shelise-sola-oct-2025 Subscribe to our C2C "CLIPS" Channel! https://www.youtube.com/@CultstoConsciousnessClips Support C2C - Any donations are welcome and appreciated to support the making of this podcast. Find our FULL (uncensored) merch store here! https://cults-to-consciousness-shop.fourthwall.com/en-usd Patreon https://www.patreon.com/cultstoconsciousness Venmo @sheliseann Find us on Social media! Instagram @cultstoconsciousness https://www.instagram.com/cultstoconsciousness Host Instagram @sheliseann https://www.instagram.com/sheliseann/ Co Producer / Host @jonathan.rosales_ https://www.instagram.com/jonathan.rosales_ TikTok @cults.to.consciousness https://www.tiktok.com/@cults.to.consciousness Twitter @cultstocon https://twitter.com/cultstocon Chapter Marks 00:00:00 Intro 00:02:20 Nazreen's upbringing as a female in Islam culture 00:06:08 Nazreen's experience getting married at 16 00:12:49 How Nazreen's close knit community made her feel obligated to do what she was told 00:17:06 Nazreen's struggle with feeling punished for being a girl 00:19:27 Nazreen's experience becoming a mother at 17 00:20:58 How Nazreen was treated by her husband 00:23:19 When Nazreen began to question her belief in Islam 00:25:48 Nazreen decides to leave her marriage after 12 years 00:35:14 Nazreen's thoughts on religion and culture 00:57:24 Nazreen's experience after leaving Islam 01:00:00 How Nazreen is doing now 01:03:30 Linda, Listen Theme Song Produced and Composed by Christian Guevara **Disclaimer: Thanks for joining us at Cults to Consciousness. This storytelling podcast is meant to be for entertainment purposes only and does not substitute for medical advice. We may discuss triggering topics and we ask that you make your personal mental health a priority. Lastly, the opinions of our guests do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the host.**