I am a single father of a five-year-old daughter, Gabrielle. Until recently, I was simply the father in a shared-custody situation with my ex-wife, with whom I had done everything I could to foster a sort of friendship, for my daughter's sake, after our separation and eventual divorce. But, as events played out recently, my ex-wife decided it would be best for everyone involved to remove herself from the situation entirely, and she did. Which now leaves me as the sole parent to my little girl.
Mine is a particularly strange situation, as I live 7,000 miles away from my daughter for work. I am under contract for the next 2 years, and it is a contract I cannot break easily without severe repercussions. Because of the environment in which I live, a strict Muslim country which devalues, segregates, and oppresses women to a degree I thought not possible in a modern society, I am reluctant to bring her here to live, to be exposed daily to this bigotry. But as her sole parent I also cannot stand to be away from her for months at a time.
Currently, she lives with my mother and her partner. I have granted them complete custody so that emergency decisions can be made if I am unreachable, which I often am.