Afghan victims of abuse find refuge

For all the sad stories, Hyneman remains hopeful for societal change.

"We're making progress every day," she said. "You can't change hundreds of years of cultural tradition overnight."

In cases the agency resolved through mediation, men must abide by signed agreements protecting women who return to them. The agency follows the women for a year after they leave the shelter in an effort to ensure their safety.

For Shabana, there is no chance of reconciliation with her kidnapper. She spoke firmly, almost spitting out the words as she expressed her contempt for him and his family.

But Shabana also said she fears retaliation. She was shaken by the confrontation with him in court, and by the passivity of her mother and uncle.

Her mother has visited her twice at the shelter to urge her to return to the man, she said. Her uncle told her that her kidnapping was permissible because it settled an enduring family dispute: Shabana's sister-in-law escaped 20 years ago from an arranged marriage to her kidnapper's cousin. "This was their just revenge," Shabana's uncle told her.

Certain that no one would help her, "I knew it was up to me, and I decided I had to escape," she said. The night before she fled, she said, her husband threatened to kill her if she tried to leave him.

"He said he could do whatever he wanted to me and no one would care," Shabana said.

For now, her life is in limbo. She has nowhere to go, no job prospects, no family support. She wants to return to high school, where she was taking final exams the day she was kidnapped.

And she wants to marry someday -- on her own terms.

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david.zucchino@latimes.com