Fleeing abuse to save herself and her children, Meral, a 22 year old Turkish woman, is seeking asylum to save the life of herself and her children from her abusive husband and his family. When she appears before a judge in Boston later this week, Meral may seem like so many other women who seek custody of their children and divorces for themselves because of alleged abuse by their husbands.

While much of her story will sound chillingly familiar, however, Meral is anything but typical. She has become the central player in an international legal drama that could reshape US immigration policy toward women all over the world.

"It's very much a test case. It will be precedent-setting and will affect a lot of people in the future," says Lisa Johnson-Firth, a lawyer representing Meral.

Meral’s political asylum claim is based upon the domestic violence she suffered from her husband and her fear that she will be killed in an honor killing if she is forced to return to Turkey. The case makes the claim that the very culture of the country from which she is seeking asylum is abusive toward women. And her case comes just as asylum policy on that score is being reshaped in Washington.

Meral, says simply, "I want to be treated as a human and I'm afraid, if I have to go home, it will not happen for me, or for my girl as she gets older."