VOA慢速英语--逃离包办婚姻的女性在美国接受大学教育

Woman Who Fled Arranged Marriage Gets College Education in US

The road to higher education can be a long one. But few people have traveled as far as Dilafruz "Dilia" Samadova has.

When Samadova was 21, she fled an arranged marriage in the Central Asian country of Tajikistan.

Samadova was able to escape the marriage with help from friends as well as the United States embassy¹. Her marriage ended in divorce². She secured³ an American work visa while seeking asylum⁴.

A group of Catholics in the American state of Ohio have helped Samadova rebuild her life. She began attending Walsh University in North Canton, Ohio.

Samadova, who is now 30 years old, recently completed a bachelor's degree program in early childhood education.

"The people I've met here, the people who've helped me, have become my family," she told the Canton Repository.

Along with school, Samadova works⁶ two jobs. For one of her jobs, she works as a teaching⁷ assistant at Our Lady of Peace Catholic⁵ School in Canton, Ohio. She is also preparing for graduate school at Walsh University.

Samadova grew up in a Muslim household with strong rules. But she joined the Catholic religion after moving to Ohio in 2011. Her religion is among the reasons she says she could never return to her home country.

"It's a very patriarchal country," she said of Tajikistan. "My mother, my four sisters, all live the same way, with no rights. ... My father didn't allow us to go to (college). But I always wanted to go to school."

Samadova said the marriage, which was arranged when she was 15, pushed her to flee.

"I tried to live like my mom told me, but it got abusive, physically⁸ and emotionally," she said. "I tried ... suicide⁹. After that ... I was scared to go back home ... I guess God guided me ... I don't know how I did everything."

Samadova's native language is Farsi. She did not speak English when she arrived to the United States. Her first stop, New York City, brought culture shock.

"I remember crying constantly, but people were so good," she said. "I had a dictionary, trying to communicate."

When she first arrived in Ohio, Samadova worked as a hotel housekeeper¹⁰. "The only English I knew was ‘pillowcase, blanket ... boss,'" she said. "I learned¹¹ by myself. I bought an iPhone and listened to TV."

She soon took a second job, cleaning a house for an Italian immigrant¹² named Mamie Kolar.

"She'd ... tell me about Jesus," Samadova said. "I didn't know anything about him. In Tajikistan ...you're a Muslim or you're not. She was very loving."

Samadova started joining Kolar at Catholic religious services. She studied the religion for two years before deciding to become a Catholic. Kolar died in 2013, but her son and daughter-in-law continued to help Samadova.

They urged her to attend Terra State Community College in the Ohio town of Fremont. She completed a two-year study program in early childhood education and saved enough money to buy her first car.

Samadova said she had hopes of attending Bowling¹³ Green State University. But, she did not meet the requirements to receive financial aid.

At a religious service in Port Clinton, someone shared Samadova's story. Jerry Pellegrino, owner of Pellegrino's Music Center in Jackson Township, was in attendance¹⁴. Pellegrino gave the priest¹⁵ his phone number with an offer to help Samadova attend Walsh University, with support from the Pellegrino Family Endowed¹⁶ Scholarship.

The Pellegrinos have long been supporters of Walsh. They were very involved in bringing Mother Teresa to the school in 1982.

Samadova found the offer to help her hard to believe.

"He offered to pay for my school. Who does that?" she said. "I called the priest and asked him, ‘Is this guy real?'"

But her friends kept urging her to contact Pellegrino. So, she did. She arrived at Walsh on a Sunday in 2017 and was in class that Monday.

Samadova said she would like to work for an organization like the United Nations or Peace Corps¹⁷ in the future. She wants to help girls stay in school.

She said she still has some contact with her four sisters. But communication with her parents is less common. They are still upset and angry about the divorce.

"Nobody ever does that. Nobody does that without permission," she said. "My sisters are happy for me, though they have the same lifestyle as my parents do now. My mother still wants me to come home. My father has disowned me, which I'm OK with because I understand the culture. I forgive him for that."

Samadova's hope is to support other women facing such difficulties.

"I know it's hard, but if you're trying, you will get it," she said. "I could have given up. I came here by myself...I have so many people who helped me; more than my real family."

Words in This Story

arranged marriage – n. a marriage in which the husband and wife are chosen for each other by their parents

divorce – n. the ending of a marriage by a legal process

bachelor's degree – n. a degree that is given to a student by a college or university usually after four years of study

graduate – adj. of or relating to a course of studies taken at a college or university after earning a bachelor's degree or other first degree

patriarchal – adj. relating to or characteristic of a system of society or government controlled by men

allow – v. to permit something

constantly – adv. done in a way that is happening all the time or very often over a period of time

pillowcase – n. a removable covering for a bag filled with soft material that is used as a cushion usually for the head of a person who is lying down

blanket – n. a covering made of cloth that is used especially on a bed to keep you warm

lifestyle – -n. a particular way of living

1 embassy   

n.大使馆，大使及其随员

参考例句：

• Large crowd demonstrated outside the British Embassy.很多群众在英国大使馆外面示威。
• He's a U.S. diplomat assigned to the embassy in London.他是美国驻伦敦大使馆的一名外交官。

2 divorce   

n.离婚；分离；vi.离婚；vt.离婚；脱离

参考例句：

• Did he divorce his wife or did she divorce him?是他要和妻子离婚，还是妻子要和他离婚？
• None of us like the divorce of word and deed.我们都不喜欢言行不一。

3 secured   

adj. 无虑的, 安心的, 安全的 adj. 牢靠的, 稳妥的 vt. 固定, 获得, 使...安全 vi. (海上工作人员)停止工作 vi. (船)抛锚, 停泊

参考例句：

• He secured the appointment of professor of English literature in the university. 他获聘为该大学的英国文学教授。
• By strengthening the embankments they secured the village from floods. 他们加固河堤让村子免受洪水之灾。

4 asylum   

n.避难所，庇护所，避难

参考例句：

• The people ask for political asylum.人们请求政治避难。
• Having sought asylum in the West for many years,they were eventually granted it.他们最终获得了在西方寻求多年的避难权。

5 catholic   

adj.天主教的；n.天主教徒

参考例句：

• The Pope is the supreme leader of the Roman Catholic Church.教皇是罗马天主教的最高领袖。
• She was a devoutly Catholic.她是一个虔诚地天主教徒。

6 works   

n.作品，著作；工厂，活动部件，机件

参考例句：

• We expect writers to produce more and better works.我们期望作家们写出更多更好的作品。
• The novel is regarded as one of the classic works.这篇小说被公认为是最优秀的作品之一。

7 teaching   

n.教学，执教，任教，讲授；(复数)教诲

参考例句：

• We all agree in adopting the new teaching method. 我们一致同意采取新的教学方法。
• He created a new system of teaching foreign languages.他创造了一种新的外语教学体系。

8 physically   

adj.物质上，体格上，身体上，按自然规律

参考例句：

• He was out of sorts physically,as well as disordered mentally.他浑身不舒服，心绪也很乱。
• Every time I think about it I feel physically sick.一想起那件事我就感到极恶心。

9 suicide   

n.自杀，自毁，自杀性行为

参考例句：

• The number of suicide has increased.自杀案件的数量增加了。
• The death was adjudged a suicide by sleeping pills.该死亡事件被判定为服用安眠药自杀。

10 housekeeper   

n.管理家务的主妇，女管家

参考例句：

• A spotless stove told us that his mother is a diligent housekeeper.炉子清洁无瑕就表明他母亲是个勤劳的主妇。
• She is an economical housekeeper and feeds her family cheaply.她节约持家，一家人吃得很省。

11 learned   

adj.有学问的，博学的；learn的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He went into a rage when he learned about it.他听到这事后勃然大怒。
• In this little village,he passed for a learned man.在这个小村子里，他被视为有学问的人。

12 immigrant   

adj.(从国外)移来的，移民的；n.移民，侨民

参考例句：

• Life in the USA was very hard for almost every new immigrant.美国的生活几乎对每一个新移民都很艰难。
• I'd like to obtain some information about applying for an immigrant visa.我想取一些申请移民签证的资料。

13 bowling   

n.保龄球运动

参考例句：

• Bowling is a popular sport with young and old.保龄球是老少都爱的运动。
• Which sport do you 1ike most,golf or bowling?你最喜欢什么运动，高尔夫还是保龄球？

14 attendance   

n.出席，出席人数，护理，照料

参考例句：

• The attendance of this class never dropped off.这个班的出席人数从未下降。
• The young man danced attendance on his rich aunt.这个年轻人小心侍候他有钱的姑妈。

15 priest   

n.神父，牧师，司铎，司祭，领导者，神甫；vt.使成为神职人员

参考例句：

• He confessed to a priest that he had sinned.他向神父忏悔他犯了罪。
• The priest visited all the old people in the parish.牧师探望了教区里的所有老人。

16 endowed   

捐钱( endow的过去式和过去分词 )； 捐赠； 资助； 使（某人）天生具有（好资质、能力等）

参考例句：

• The cross is endowed with a special meaning for Christians. 对基督教徒来说，十字架被赋予了特殊意义。
• The rich businessman endowed the hospital with half his fortune. 这位富商把他的一半财产捐赠给那所医院。

17 corps   

n.(通信等兵种的)部队；(同类作的)一组

参考例句：

• The medical corps were cited for bravery in combat.医疗队由于在战场上的英勇表现而受嘉奖。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。