At the age of eighteen, Intisar found herself forced into marriage by her father, a not uncommon occurrence in Jordan. Seeing no alternative, Intisar agreed be married and hoped that the husband her father had chosen, Imad, would be a good man with whom she could share her life and raise a family.

Unfortunately, Imad turned out to be an abusive man. “He would scream and shout for no reason,” describes Intisar. “He denied me the right to go out of the house. I couldn’t visit my parents or friends. I felt like I was his slave.”

To fulfill her “duties,” Intisar started having children. Within a few years she gave birth to four children, three boys and a girl.

Divorce was not an option, so Intisar sought other ways to manage her situation. Providing for four children placed a...