Freedom Was Never the Problem

I grew up in a strict Middle Eastern household.
You know the classic Muslim parents — controlling, holding a lot of fear. They always meant well. They just wanted to keep us safe.

I can see now that they carried so much anxiety in their nervous systems that their brains were always jumping to the worst-case scenario. That fear turned into rules. And those rules turned into control.

I remember the first time I felt truly free.

I was in Year 10 and went on a sailing camp with school for a couple of nights in Geelong, about two hours from where I lived. I will never forget that weekend.

For the first time in my life, I could actually feel the wind on my skin. I felt giddy. Light. Excited for every moment that was coming next. I remember thinking, wow… I can breathe.

It was wild to see the difference. And it broke my heart at the same time — realising how many girls never get to experience life like that because of fear, rules, and traditions that have been upheld for generations.

What really keeps these rules alive isn’t just our parents or culture.
It’s fear.

Because technically, the only way our freedom can be taken from us is if we give it away — or allow it to be taken from us.

Our parents and cultures aren’t necessarily going to change. We can’t wait around hoping they’ll suddenly understand. We can’t convince them out of fear they’ve lived with their whole lives.

Change happens when we take action where we can.

Sometimes that means building independence — emotionally, mentally, financially. Developing confidence. Self-respect. Enough inner strength to stand up for yourself.

Otherwise, the patterns just keep repeating.

My sisters and I grew up with Afghan parents. My dad is the eldest of six, the leader of the pack. You don’t mess with him. You follow orders.

But ever since that camp, something in me changed.

Once I experienced what freedom felt like, I couldn’t unknow it. I knew this was how I was meant to live. Because for the first time, I felt like myself.

And here’s where I got really confused.

I grew up with Islam. I followed all the rules. And somewhere along the way, I learned that giving up your freedom, obeying, staying small — that this was somehow religious.

But it’s not.

The lack of freedom, the control — that’s cultural. It’s habitual. It’s passed down. It’s not God.

Because at that camp, I felt closer to God than I ever had before.

I remember feeling excited, talking to Him like, thank you for this life. This is so fun. I love being alive.
And that shocked me.

Because whenever I felt oppressed or trapped at home, I felt far from God. I saw Him as angry. Someone to be scared of.

But in freedom, I felt love.

And I realised something big:
God wants us to be free.

Why would we be created just to suffer? To shrink? To hide from life?

Freedom isn’t sinful.
It’s sacred.

And this is your reminder — your freedom isn’t just allowed. It’s important.

When you start making freedom a priority — in how you think, how you live, how you choose — you finally get to experience life the way it was meant to be lived.

I’m talking about freedom from the moment you wake up to the moment you go to bed. Life on your terms. That life exists.

I’ve created a Skool community for girls — cultural girls, girls from strict families, or honestly anyone who feels trapped by conditioning — to help break free from these patterns and finally live for themselves.

Because confronting parents, setting boundaries, standing up for your rights — that’s not easy. And unless you’ve had strict parents, people don’t really understand how terrifying it can feel.

Even when they technically can’t hurt us, it feels like they can.

But that fear?
That’s conditioning.

That’s the program we were trained in — to feel powerless, afraid, small.

And now, it’s time to take that power back.

The world is changing. People are waking up to old systems, old oppression, old patterns that were never actually serving anyone.

This isn’t just one community waking up. It’s all of us.

And a huge part of this shift is girls — from all backgrounds, cultures, and religions — being allowed to live.

Even saying that feels strange. Allowed to live.

Imagine an animal asking permission to exist. It’s wild that we’ve normalised that question for ourselves.

So let’s end it. Together.

As scary as it is, we walk with courage.
We trust ourselves.
We choose freedom.

You’re not wrong for wanting it.