No, no – my brothers would not do that for me. As I said above, my family does not support the idea of my marriage or even establishing a life that does not revolve around them. My brothers are busy with their own spouses and children anyway, and they are not very religious so they would not know the first thing about finding a muslim spouse. Everyone has written me off as “too old”. But, I wonder if as a muslim I am required to accept my parents’ will for me. It seems a bit unfair.

if your father wont find you a good muslim spouse then your brothers need to do that as they are your mahrem. maybe they could help you get married?

I struggle daily with the idea that f I want a family of my own, I likely have to leave this city and try to establish myself elsewhere. It may even mean marrying someone they don’t approve of. At this time my parents are old. They may become ill at anytime. Do I sacrifice my chance at happiness by staying with my parents? Or do I trust their care to my older brothers and try o venture out into the world so I can establish a circle of friends and perhaps even a husband? My father does not like o burden my brothers (who are married) because he comes from a male-dominated culture and as such the happiness of girls is not of prime importance.

There is something wrong with this picture. I feel like I’m “damned if I do” and “damned if I don’t”.

Does Islam really require that the daughters surrender their lives to their parents?