Help me Fight for my Daughters and my Rights as a Father

This campaign is focused on raising funds to support my struggle for equal parenting rights. It is not intended to disparage or harm anyone involved in the case.

Dear family, friends, and compassionate supporters,

My name is Mehdi Bandali, and I am a father to two young daughters (one who just turned 2 years and the other who just turned 9 months). My daughters mean the world to me. I lost my father to cancer when I was only 16 years old. I've spent my life working hard so that I can provide for my family and at the same time be an equal and active parent in my children's lives. This past year has been devastating as I both - lost my mother to cancer and I've been forced to fight to maintain my role as a father. For the last 9 months, I have been struggling in an uphill battle for the right to equal custody and to protect my daughters' well-being in the face of a difficult and emotionally charged divorce. Today, I humbly ask for your help.

This journey began earlier this year, just a few days after returning from my mother's funeral. Upon my return, I was served with divorce and child custody paperwork, and a restraining order. While I was in the middle of feeding lunch to my older daughter, I was forced to leave my daughters and my home with only a suitcase in hand.

Before this custody battle began, my ex and I were equal partners in caring for and raising our daughters. I was a fully present and active father, balancing my demanding medical career while being deeply involved in my daughters' lives. Unfortunately, everything changed when my ex obtained a restraining order against me - a move made without evidence or basis, yet one that has had profound legal consequences.

The restraining order effectively took away my role as a caregiver for my children and has drastically limited my parenting time to just a few hours each week. Speaking with other fathers, I have come to realize that this tactic is right out of the playbook, and is often used to sideline fathers, especially in family court systems that operate on archaic assumptions about parenting roles. Fathers are too often not seen as primary caregivers despite the evolution of the role they play in their daughter's lives within our modern society. The contributions from fathers go unrecognized and unappreciated.

Since being served the above paperwork while grieving over the loss of my mother, I’ve been fighting not just for my own stability but, more importantly, to ensure my daughters grow up in a safe, loving, and nurturing environment with equal access to both parents.

Here’s the harsh reality I’ve faced since this ordeal began:

- *Unfair Parenting Plan/ Arrangements*: Despite being a hands-on father for years, I now see my daughters for only a fraction of the time we shared before. Witnessing my eldest daughter cry and cling to me during child exchanges is heartbreaking.

- *Harm to children*: Despite the court’s ruling against relocating our children, my daughters have been subjected to grueling, medically inadvisable travel schedules back and forth from the U.S. to Canada.

- *Financial Strain*: Between trying to meet my own living expenses, covering joint financial obligations including a mortgage and paying legal fees, I am struggling to stay afloat

This fight is not just about my rights as a father—it’s about my daughters’ rights to have both parents equally involved in their lives. No matter what our implicit biases may be, fathers are essential to a child’s emotional and developmental well-being. Attempts are being made to undermine my role, while disregarding the children’s best interests. My children deserve stability, love, and the presence of both parents in their lives.

Your support will help me continue this battle for fairness. Specifically, funds raised will go toward:

- *Legal Representation*: Ensuring I have the resources to push back against manipulation and continue to fight for equal custody.

I never imagined I’d have to fight this hard to remain in my daughters’ lives. As a father, I’ve done everything in my power to be there for them, and I refuse to give up.

Your contributions—no matter the size—will make an incredible difference in this journey. Even if you cannot donate, I would be so grateful if you could share this campaign with your networks.

Let’s stand together against the outdated systems that sideline fathers and fight for a future where my daughters can grow up with love, balance, and fairness. Thank you for standing with me.

With gratitude and hope,

Mehdi Bandali.