Episode description

In the seventh episode, meet Zoraya, an advocate for domestic violence survivors from Ecuador. She left medical school back home to pursue the American Dream. Her path to independence has not been an easy one, though. To make ends meet, she worked in factories, sold food and was a shoe shiner, while preparing herself for a better future. She also endured a violent marriage. In 2014, Zoraya was physically attacked by her former sister-in-law and had to be hospitalized. Yet she found the inner strength to keep going. After a journey of healing, she has become a role model for all women who experience domestic abuse.

Real People. Real Lives. Women Immigrants of New York is a storytelling project from New Women New Yorkers that elevates immigrant stories, moving beyond statistics and political rhetoric. The third, 2020 edition of the project highlights a diverse group of immigrant women living in New York City – frontline workers, journalists, stay-at-home moms, artists and entrepreneurs, among others – on a series of podcasts to be released weekly from December 18, 2020 through March 8, 2021. Participants talked about their immigrant experience and reflected on ideas of home and belonging within the backdrop of a year like no other in New York City - marked by the pandemic, racial justice protests and a presidential election.