Sufiah runs away

Eventually, the situation grew to be too much for Sufiah and she ran away from Oxford when she was 15. Sufiah later told us that Farooq's behaviour was the reason she left.

This was a very traumatic time for our family, with Farooq blaming everyone but himself for Sufiah's running away.

Because of the media coverage surrounding Sufiah's disappearance, she was found in Bournemouth by the police a few weeks later — I was just relieved to hear that she was safe and well. Sufiah told the authorities that she did not want to return to Oxford, and while she was happy to see my other children and me, she refused to see her father.