What does freedom mean to you? Is it the liberty to do, say and think what you want? Or is it simply a wish to look at the world without covering your face? or to drive a car? Or not to marry a man more than twice your age?
It isn't that I was unaware of the plight of women in some of the Muslim countries before I read this book. Nonetheless, it opened my eyes - and very wide at that. That is also not to say that the condition of women is very great in my own country. There are places, communities and families where their lives are maybe ruled by more restrictions and rules than in any decent-sized prison. But I am sure that in the 60s-90s, when most of the events in this book take place, the condition of Indian women, at least Hindu/Christian ones, wasn't as bad as it was for women in Saudi Arabia. And though I know little about the Saudi Arabia of today I suspect that we Indian women are far better off, on average, than our Saudi counterparts.
Back to the book. This is the story of princess Sultana - this is not her real name, of course. She is from the royal family of Saudi Arabia but quite different from the other submissive royal women who are content to live a life in a gilded cage. So she is upset that she isn't allowed to go to the mosque to pray while her only brother accompanies her father there. She is upset because her father considers his daughters inferior compared to his precious son. She is empathetic enough to take an interest in her servants' lives and feel their pain. She is bold enough to teach a lesson to both - her pompous ass of a brother and her errant husband. And she is confident enough to seduce her would-be husband right in front of his mom. Attagirl Sultana!
But it's not her story alone. It's also the story of her mother who spends her whole life as per the wishes of her husband and yet takes a firm stand when it comes to the well-being of one of her daughters. It's also the story of her mother-in-law who ends up caring for the life of a woman who she hates from the bottom of her heart. Of Sultana's Filipino servant Marcie and her unfortunate friend. Of Sultana's sister Sara's miserable first marriage. Of her sister Baher's circumcision. Of a young Saudi girl who Sultana chances upon during her stay in hospital. Of her friend Sameera. Of the unfortunate Saudi girl Amal. Of the Saudi women who dare to defy the rules and drive on the Saudi streets during Iraq's invasion of Kuwait.
The pages made me stop at times, sometimes in astonishment, many times in sheer exasperation but mostly in pain. I remembered the Saudi family that was staying in a cottage next to ours in a Munnar resort a couple of years back. There was a middle-aged couple and a girl of about 12-13 - both ladies covered from head to toe. Naturally I had assumed the girl must be their daughter. But this book made me wonder - was that girl the man's second, younger wife? Of course, no man is stupid enough to take more than one wife on a vacation at the same time. But who knows? I still remember that the ladies were veiled when they came down for breakfast and it had taken every ounce of restraint to stop myself from craning my neck to see how they managed to eat their food through all that cloth.
Even after I turned the last page I knew that I will forever be haunted by two questions - one, what happened to Sameera and Amal's daughter and two, why did Sultana choose to return to her husband when she had managed to escape successfully.
It isn't that I was unaware of the plight of women in some of the Muslim countries before I read this book. Nonetheless, it opened my eyes - and very wide at that. That is also not to say that the condition of women is very great in my own country. There are places, communities and families where their lives are maybe ruled by more restrictions and rules than in any decent-sized prison. But I am sure that in the 60s-90s, when most of the events in this book take place, the condition of Indian women, at least Hindu/Christian ones, wasn't as bad as it was for women in Saudi Arabia. And though I know little about the Saudi Arabia of today I suspect that we Indian women are far better off, on average, than our Saudi counterparts.
Back to the book. This is the story of princess Sultana - this is not her real name, of course. She is from the royal family of Saudi Arabia but quite different from the other submissive royal women who are content to live a life in a gilded cage. So she is upset that she isn't allowed to go to the mosque to pray while her only brother accompanies her father there. She is upset because her father considers his daughters inferior compared to his precious son. She is empathetic enough to take an interest in her servants' lives and feel their pain. She is bold enough to teach a lesson to both - her pompous ass of a brother and her errant husband. And she is confident enough to seduce her would-be husband right in front of his mom. Attagirl Sultana!
But it's not her story alone. It's also the story of her mother who spends her whole life as per the wishes of her husband and yet takes a firm stand when it comes to the well-being of one of her daughters. It's also the story of her mother-in-law who ends up caring for the life of a woman who she hates from the bottom of her heart. Of Sultana's Filipino servant Marcie and her unfortunate friend. Of Sultana's sister Sara's miserable first marriage. Of her sister Baher's circumcision. Of a young Saudi girl who Sultana chances upon during her stay in hospital. Of her friend Sameera. Of the unfortunate Saudi girl Amal. Of the Saudi women who dare to defy the rules and drive on the Saudi streets during Iraq's invasion of Kuwait.
The pages made me stop at times, sometimes in astonishment, many times in sheer exasperation but mostly in pain. I remembered the Saudi family that was staying in a cottage next to ours in a Munnar resort a couple of years back. There was a middle-aged couple and a girl of about 12-13 - both ladies covered from head to toe. Naturally I had assumed the girl must be their daughter. But this book made me wonder - was that girl the man's second, younger wife? Of course, no man is stupid enough to take more than one wife on a vacation at the same time. But who knows? I still remember that the ladies were veiled when they came down for breakfast and it had taken every ounce of restraint to stop myself from craning my neck to see how they managed to eat their food through all that cloth.
Even after I turned the last page I knew that I will forever be haunted by two questions - one, what happened to Sameera and Amal's daughter and two, why did Sultana choose to return to her husband when she had managed to escape successfully.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment