Book Club post #2

I become more and more shocked as the chapters in this book pan out. More and more disturbed by the actions of men towards women in this book. I am unsure of when this is written and if these conditions are current but it is astonishing that men were able to get away with these sort of things. In chapter 8, I got goosebumps hearing that Nadia would be drowned by her own father in their swimming pool for everyone to see. Every part of this execution is astonishing, especially the part about her father committing this heinous act. In this chapter the narrator states, "I felt a hate for the customs of my land creep into my throat like a foul taste. The absolute lack of control, of freedom for our sex, drove young girls like Wafa and Nadia to desperate acts." This quote stuck out to me, preceding the execution of Nadia it is an enlightening thought to think about how different humans may act under strict conditions that never allowed them to even taste or think about freedom. Their lives were barely worth living to them, how would a human not act irrationally under these circumstances. Furthermore the men in this novel disgust me, and I cringe at the thought of most them. Sultana states, "Such cruel actions were the worst of all commentaries on the wisdom of men who consume and destroy the lives and dreams of their women with emotionless indifference." Not only did the restrictions set by the father of Nadia lead her to make such mischievous decisions but they also lead her to her death. How any father can coldly murder his own blood for such indiscretions leaves me speechless.