Simron is a first generation immigrant, originally from South Asia. When she and her family moved to the U.S., she realized her new home had different expectations — and opportunities — for her than anything she’d ever known. Her family, though, didn’t see things the same way.
Simron wanted to go to college and pursue her dreams, while her family wanted to arrange the sort of marriage that Simron had seen lead to abuse and injustice. So she made a choice. She said, “This cycle of oppression will continue, the cycle of being helpless. And that’s when I thought, ‘I don’t want a daughter who will go through what I’m going through…’ I thought, ‘If I can’t have what I want, I won’t accept what’s given to me, either. I’ll fight.’” And fight she did.
*To protect her privacy, the woman pictured is not Simron.
