Shamed

In 1997, Sarbjit Athwal was called by her husband to attend a family meeting. It looked like just another family gathering. An attractive house in west London, a large dining room, two brothers, two sisters, one wife. But the subject they were discussing was anything but ordinary. At the head of the group sat the elderly mother. She stared proudly around the table, smiling at her children, then raised her hand for silence. 'It's decided then', the old lady announced. 'We have to get rid of her'. 'Her' was Surjit Athwal, Sarbjit's.