Humayra Abedin

Humayra Abedin (born 2 March 1976) is a Bangladeshi doctor of medicine who worked for the National Health Service in the United Kingdom and became a cause célèbre after her parents tried to force her into marriage and held her captive until she was freed by court order

Education and career Abedin was born and brought up in Dhaka, Bangladesh. She is the only child of her parents, Mohammad Joynal Abedin, (born 1932), a retired businessman who at that time owned a clothing factory and several shops, and Begum Sofia Kamal, (born 1941), a housewife. She studied at Viqarunnisa Noon School and College in Dhaka before training as a doctor at Dhaka Medical College.

In September 2002, she came to England to study for a master's degree in public health at the University of Leeds. In 2008, she was training to become a general practitioner at Whipps Cross Hospital in East London. She moved to London and was training to become a registrar at a GP surgery in east London.

Legal case Abedin's Muslim family became angry after they learned she had a long-term relationship with a Bangladeshi man she met in London, who works as a software engineer.

At the end of June 2008, the Metropolitan Police launched an inquiry, after she was held captive in her flat by her mother and uncle, who visited for several days. Her case had also been taken up by Interpol.

After succeeding in getting messages to her friends to say that she was being held against her will, a series of legal moves were instituted on her behalf. Abedin instructed her lawyers to annul the marriage on her behalf.

In December 2008, after her family ignored orders from the Bangladeshi high court to bring Abedin to court. On 5 December 2008, The high court issued an order under the Forced Marriage Act, which makes it illegal to force someone into a marriage against their will. It is thought to be the first time the legislation has been used to help a foreign national who was living abroad. Abedin then flew from Dhaka to London. On 16 December 2008, she arrived in the UK. Further orders were granted to protect and prevent Abedin from being removed from the UK again. Abedin refused to press charges against her parents.