Annesa Tabassum - Nurse Using TikTok to Fight Stigma Around Abuse and Divorce

TikTok isn’t just for dances. Annesa is an advocate using the platform to share her story, marrying young and divorcing an abusive husband, to inspire women to act with confidence and to break stigmas in the South Asian community. Her vulnerability has earned her well over 300,000 followers, with some videos hitting views in the millions. And her job as an influencer is on top of being a full-time psych nurse and a full-time Masters student. In this episode, Anessa talks about having to explain Bangladesh to people who think that it's the same place as India. She explains the mental barriers that she faced when leaving her abuser and how Islam played a role before and after her marraige. And she shares the story of how she became a TikTok star thanks to a bet.