BOXER Amir Khan’s wife has told of her nightmare living with his family, saying: “I was bullied but no longer.”
Faryal Makhdoom, 25, claims she was slapped, had a remote control hurled at her and was cropped out of family photos.
The catwalk model also alleges her “controlling” in-laws changed the locks to her and Amir’s room while they were away on a romantic break.
She says they insisted she tell them if she was going shopping to Asda, and flew into a rage if she bared her skin, against Muslim law.
Faryal hit out at his family on social media last week.
Speaking to The Sun on Sunday after the outburst, she says: “I never felt I could do anything right. I was bullied physically and mentally.
“One day I said, ‘Enough of this s***, I’m going to speak up. I’ve had it for three years and that’s enough’.’”
She says ex-world champ Amir had also stood up to his family, adding: “My husband feels like a man now. He’s much happier and so am I.”
Faryal, born in New York to Pakistani parents, was a 21-year-old student when she married Amir in 2013.
Soon after the lavish ceremony the couple moved into a Bolton bungalow he shared with mum Falak, dad Shah, brother Haroon, 25, and sister Mariyah, 19.
She says: “It was a big culture shock being an American in this northern town.
“There, they think you are a bad Muslim if you show a bit of skin. I felt like I didn’t fit in.”
Faryal says when she and Amir went away for a few days early in the marriage she locked the door to their room.
She adds: “It was our space and my things were inside but when I came back Amir’s parents would have changed the locks.
“They said it was their son’s room and that they were allowed access.
“I don’t think they ever looked at anything inside — it was the principle. They had this attitude that their son was their everything and I was just an appendage.
“But we were man and wife and I should’ve been treated with respect.”
She also clashed with Amir’s siblings. She claims: “When I went to do laundry on the other side of the house, his eldest sister Tabinda slammed the door on me.
“I said to Amir’s mum, ‘Is this fair? Tell your daughter this is wrong’. But she just brushed away my words.
“Tabinda hit me and she threw a remote at me, which missed. Mariyah cropped me out of family photographs, which was hurtful, and has said nasty things about me.”
More trouble erupted after she went to the wedding of Haroon, known as Harry, in August.
Faryal says: “I remember grabbing Amir’s mother’s hand on the dancefloor. Harry later tweeted something about me not showing them respect at the wedding then he deleted it.”
IMAGE: Not known
IMAGE: Getty Images
Faryal says she was made to follow petty rules while in the house.
She says: “I used to go out shopping and I was quizzed, ‘How much are you spending? Why so much?’
“Even if I went to Asda, they’d ask why hadn’t I told them first. It was all about control. They’d say things like, ‘She sits at home all day and does nothing. She’s too modern’.
“They were always telling on me. They’d say to Amir, ‘She didn’t come to our side of the house today’, or, ‘She wore sleeveless today’.
“If I had been older I would have handled it better.
“After a while, I just started to go quiet. I felt everyone thought that Amir Khan’s wife had this beautiful life. But I was miserable, depressed.”
Faryal says even her pregnancy was dogged by anxiety, claiming her in-laws urged Amir to divorce her. She adds: “They would say things (to my parents) like, ‘Come and get her, she’s giving us problems’.
“Amir didn’t know what I was going through.
“They said, ‘Ok, every morning she has to be up by 8am and make breakfast for the whole family’.
“What a cheap and humiliating thing to suggest. They were basically saying that’s all a daughter-in-law is good for.”
Faryal even admitted she threatened to call police, adding: “When the locks got changed and when my sister-in-law threw the remote, I did say that. But I was scared his parents would convince Amir to divorce me if I called the police.”
The rift exploded into the open last week when Faryal posted messages on Snapchat describing herself as the voice of “every abused woman”.
She added in the posts: “There are many women who suffer in silence due to ill-treatment from the in-laws. This dark side is usually kept hidden.”
She says her father-in-law no longer speaks to her.
But while the feud made her feel some regret about marrying, she says she and Amir are now happier than ever.
Speaking to The Sun on Sunday, her £100,000 engagement ring sparkling, Faryal says Amir had been 100 per cent supportive after her online rant.
She adds: “He wants to keep the peace and I understand that. But I am free to speak out.”
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She believes jealousy was part of the problem, saying: “Amir was the eldest son, the money maker, and I was the outsider. Islam says the eldest son provides for his parents.
“I’m happy for Amir to do that but he doesn’t have to do it for all his siblings. If he gave me a designer bag, he would have to do it for all the women in the family.”
Amir recently bought a house for his parents.
Faryal adds: “I salute myself for sticking around but I’m American and one day I said, ‘Enough of this s***, I’m going to speak up’.
“I wish for Amir’s sake we could get on. It’s ironic that his parents didn’t want him to slip out of their hands. Now he’s slipped out of them completely.
“I don’t think we will ever get on. People say give it time but I just want to be happy with my husband and daughter. I want to have my life, they can have theirs.”
Faryal also wants to be a role model for “bullied” Muslim women. She adds: “I was always quiet and I don’t think they thought I would speak up. But I now feel like a burden has been lifted.
“I’ve had hatred from people who say I’m a terrible daughter-in-law but I’ve also had a lot of support.
“I think there are millions of girls who have to live like slaves at home and not have lives of their own. I got bullied but no longer.”
Way of strife
Muslim Conservative MP Nusrat Ghani says:
FARYAL, unfortunately, isn’t the first woman of Pakistani origin to come forward to share experiences of verbal abuse.
I have seen how Asian communities have failed to integrate and still hold on to old cultural practices. Some see women as their property to be controlled, to be seen and not heard.
I have seen and heard women be told how to dress, who to talk to and if and when they can leave the home. It is sad how in some, daughters-in-law are expected to cook, clean and manage all chores at all hours.
Many of us take living a life of our choosing for granted but it is a freedom we should all be entitled to.
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