Woman at Pt Zero

Woman at Point Zero Response Firdaus experienced many traumatic events as a child which shaped the way she came to view herself as a woman, and men as a whole. As a member of a low class islamic family, it seems as if much of her families frustrations with life were taken out on her. Her father was like all the rest in her islamic society, sometimes Firdaus couldn’t even tell him apart from the other men in her community. He was very hypocritical in that he, as all islamics, believed that while stealing, killing, and defaming a woman were sins however beatings ones wife was not. He frequently beat his wife, who would sometimes beat Firdaus in return. Firdaus’ mother was extremely subservient to her husband and only honored him, even though he beat her and her children. When there was no food, she would hide food for the father and he would eat infront of his starving children. In winter when it was cold, Firdaus would look to her mother for warmth, who would abandon her in order to keep her husband warm. Firdaus’ relationship with her uncle is a very interesting situation. Even though he would molest her and touch her while she slept, she still cared for him and enjoyed his comfort which most likely confused her in regards to not only him, but all men. Mohammadain was a boy Firdaus would experiment sexually with in the fields, which she thoroughly enjoyed until her mother found out and hired a woman to come and give her a clitoridectomy. She cried all night after this, knowing that a part of her was gone and would never return. All of these complicated and controversial relationships make Firdaus feel oppressed and weighed down by her parents, and men as a whole. She was prevented from going to the fields and playing with Mohammadain which was the only thing in life she truly enjoyed. I find it very hypocritical that she was given a clitoridectomy for experimenting with Mohammadain, for if her parents would have payed more attention to Firdaus they would have realized that her very own uncle had been molesting her. This most likely also confused Firdaus as why women were treated so much differently than men in her society. Due to situations like this, Firdaus came to hate men. Whenever she saw a picture of a man, she assumed he was corrupt an spat on the picture. She had never had a positive relationship with a man so her disgust with men is of no surprise. In school Firdaus takes a particular liking to reading tales of corrupt people who raped, pillaged, stole, lied, and cheated. She realizes that all of these rulers were men and soon comes to view all men through this lens and is disgusted by them. The way she comments about their guttural praying, and their fat buttocks rising and falling while deceiving themselves and allah shows her disgust with men whom she does not even know. At this point she has lost all faith in men, and almost society as a whole, before she meets Mrs. Iqbal. One sleepless night Firdaus retreats to the playground to get away from things, and is spotted by Ms.Iqbal who sits next to her. Firdaus begins to cry uncontrollably and tells Ms. Iqbal that she does not know why. In turn, Ms.Iqbal also begins to cry a bit, but denies it when Firdaus inquires about it. Later on she discusses the interaction with her roomate, who tells her that she talks about Ms.Iqbal everynight, and that she believes Firdaus is in love with Ms.Iqbal.