Two Women in One Book

When I first read this short novel, I was thrilled by it and considered it very interesting, but only from an outsider's perspective, seeing a woman's struggles in a society that is foreign to me. Rereading the story several years later, however, and with another three of El-Saadawi's novels to compare to, most notably my favourite so far, Woman at Point Zero, I have to rate it higher and praise its universal value.

This is a thought-provoking story about a woman fighting within herself - divided between the official, obedient woman society expects her to be and her inner self, full of desire for a life of her own. It is a beautiful and valid story, not only in the Muslim world, but in all societies with strong opinions regarding so-called normal behaviour.

Growing older, and more experienced (some would say bitter), I tend not to see the specific Muslim society as the main issue, but rather human community in general, where the majority of people are afraid of outsiders, thinkers, individual dreamers and strong personalities going against the mainstream values.

Of course the limitation of personal freedom is much more pronounced in religiously conservative communities, but as a social pressure, I recognise it in all countries I have lived - despite the fact they all are "open-minded, liberal societies", advertising religious tolerance and freedom of speech. The reality for individual people, however, may look very different, adding hypocrisy to the issues to deal with.

So this book is recommended to whoever ponders on the relationship between individual and collective, creativity and routine, internal and external self images.

These quotes spoke right to my heart:

"She knew why human beings hide their real desires: because they are strong enough to be destructive; and since people do not want to be destroyed, they opt for a passive life with no real desires."

"Bahia Shaheen was afraid of her real self, that other self dwelling within her, that devil who moved and saw things with the sharpest powers of perception."

"She wanted to be cast out, to have no mother or father, and no family to protect her. For protection itself was the real danger: it was an assault on her reality, the usurpation of her will and of her very existence."