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WRITER / POET / AUTHOR
Helen Thurloe’s debut novel, Promising Azra, is published by Allen & Unwin.
What it’s about:
Azra is sixteen, smart and knows how to get what she wants. When she wins a place in a state chemistry competition, she thinks her biggest problem is getting her parents’ permission to go.
But she doesn’t know they’re busy arranging her marriage to a cousin she’s barely met. In Pakistan, in three months’ time.
Azra always thought she’d finish high school with her friends, but now her dreams of going to university are overshadowed. And it all becomes more complicated when her Uncle sees her with Pratik.
Can she find a way to do what she wants, while keeping her parents happy? Or must she choose between being a good daughter and her own freedom?
Publisher: Allen & Unwin, August 2016
Background:
Promising Azra is a hybrid of true stories, based on extensive interviews with high school students in Western Sydney. It is also informed by the work of the Immigrant Women’s Health Centre in Fairfield, Anti-Slavery Australia, and Good Shepherd (Victoria). The novel explores the blurry lines between freedom and obligation, consent and coercion, and culture versus individual rights in contemporary Australia.
The Stories behind Promising Azra
Promising Azra draws from many people’s experiences, both in Australia and around the world.
Here are details of the reports, media articles and books that inform the novel.
If you, or someone you know, is at risk of forced marriage, the following organisations can help.
Australia: mybluesky.org.au UK: karmanirvana.org.uk
