More than four years after her disappearance made national headlines, Dua Zehra is living with her family in Karachi, studying pre-medical sciences and rebuilding her life.Dua, whose case dominated national headlines in 2022, now lives with her parents and sister. In a recent interview with BBC Urdu, she said she is studying pre-medical sciences and also creates YouTube vlogs with her sister.
Her case began on April 16, 2022, when her father, Mehdi Kazmi, reported her missing from Karachi. Days later, Dua surfaced in Punjab and said she had left home voluntarily and married Zaheer Ahmed.
The case subsequently developed into a complex legal battle involving questions over her age, custody and marriage.
An initial medical assessment placed her age between 16 and 17, while a later medical board concluded in July 2022 that she was between 15 and 16 years old and closer to 15.
Dua was later brought back to Karachi and placed in a government-run shelter. In January 2023, the Sindh High Court granted her interim custody to her parents. A family court subsequently granted her parents permanent custody in July 2024, observing that her welfare was best served by remaining with them.
Since returning home, Dua says her relationship with her family has strengthened and that she now receives a largely positive response from friends, teachers, relatives and people who follow her online.
She has also spoken about the difficulty young women can face when trying to rebuild their lives after traumatic or highly publicised experiences, encouraging others facing difficult circumstances to remain courageous and seek support from their families.
Dua is now concentrating on her studies and says she hopes to contribute to Pakistan in the future, with an ambition to join the Pakistan Navy as an officer.
Her story, which once centred on disappearance, disputed age claims and courtroom proceedings, has now entered a different phase — one focused on education, family life and rebuilding a future away from the intense public scrutiny that surrounded the case in 2022.