australian muslim
A Melbourne woman who told how she felt like an "animal" and a "slave" while practising Islam says she hopes she'll inspire other female Muslims to "free themselves" from the religion.

Nadia (last name with held) and her eldest daughter Allawea are now in hiding, after their family turned against them when the pair denounced Islam.

"It is in an honour for them to kill somebody whose turned away from Islam, and their own mother has turned away from Islam so I mean nothing to them," the 40-year-old told A Current Affair.

Things escalated in October last year, when Nadia's two eldest sons turned up at her former home in Melbourne's western suburbs, brutally bashing her new husband.

The young men fled when police arrived, with officers later allegedly finding several rifles in their possession.

Weapons charges were laid but the boys' whereabouts are unknown.

nadia
© ACANadia is speaking out in the hopes of helping other Muslim women.
Nadia and her teenage daughter are now living in a safe house, provided by a domestic violence charity.

The 40-year-old, originally from Bendigo, met her ex-husband when she was in her late teens. She fell head over heels and converted to Islam but "struggled to do daily prayers, daily washing" and "read the Koran".

"I watched my children giving me their seconds off their plate ... and that was okay because I was western and white, and not Muslim," she said.

She claims she denounced the faith after growing concerned about growing anti-western sentiment in the family and discovering her ex-husband had been seeing other women - a move that ultimately led to the October incident.

"Maybe after today, there will be some women who will say 'hey I am human, I'm not an animal' and maybe they will get the chance to be free," she said.