Souad

Brûlée vive parce qu’ « on » l’avait vue parler à un garçon !
Souad est née en Cisjordanie. Très tôt elle a appris que la vie des filles ne comptait pas. Sa mère a mis au monde un seul garçon, au milieu de plein de filles. Dès qu’une fille naissait, elle la tuait.
« Avec une couverture en laine, elle l’étouffait. Je l’ai vu de mes propres yeux, murmure Souad. Cela se faisait devant tout le monde »
Cette mère mariée à 14 ans avec un homme de 40, il ne parlait jamais. show more Soumise, elle travaillait sans cesse. Les filles travaillaient, dès leur plus jeune âge, sous l’autorité d’un père violent.
Un soir, alors qu’elle a 17 ans, enfermée dans une pièce de la maison familiale, elle entend la voix de son père. Elle doit mourir, dit-il. Personne – ni sa mère, ni ses sœurs, ni son frère- ne bronche.
L’honneur de la famille est souillé, martèle le père, un voisin affirme qu’il l’a vue parler avec un garçon et la rumeur commence à se répandre. Selon la tradition, il faut la tuer au plus vite puis exhiber son cadavre : l’honneur sera lavé …
Qu’est-ce que le crime d’honneur ? L’assassinat par les parents de leur fille soupçonnée de n’être plus vierge. 10 000 jeunes filles sont tuées chaque année dans le monde par leurs parents, pour venger l’honneur familial.
Moyen-Orient, Pakistan, Brésil, Nigeria …la liste est longue des pays qui tolèrent cette coutume sociale, car la foi ne punit pas les assassins du crime d’honneur.
Souad est la seule survivante connue. Victime directe de crime d’honneur, elle accepte aujourd’hui de témoigner pour que nous prenions conscience de l’horreur de ces crimes d’honneur impunis ; pour les filles victimes de cette atroce coutume.
Au risque de sa vie… si sa famille apprend que Souad est en vie, il lui faudra absolument la tuer, maintenant. show less

Attention everyone: THIS IS NOT A REAL MEMOIR. This is a fictional story which was dressed up as a memoir, and the alleged author may not even exist. I was suspicious of it when I read it because the book described things which were, quite frankly, impossible. NO ONE could survive burns over 90% of their body without immediate and excellent medical treatment. For that matter, I doubt anyone could survive being burned that badly even if they got the best medical attention right away. I looked show more the book up online and found an essay by a reputable scholar noting its many historical/cultural inaccuracies. You can read the essay here: http://www.antiwar.com/orig/ttaylor.php?articleid=5801 This is not a true story. It's a novel, and not a very good one.

It frankly disgusts me that some person could take advantage of a real, very sad situation -- the plight of women in the Middle East -- and write this fake, inaccurate and xenophobic "memoir" which preys on Western anxieties and misconceptions, in order to make a buck. show less

I am so glad I have read this book. I also do not believe it has anything to do with religion as much as cultures. What so many of us in the modern world seem to forget is that the rest of the world does not "progress" at the same rate. Women have had to fight to get our rights everywhere, it is much slower in isolated places like this. The women do not know better so they just accept it. Also, as another journaller mentioned, women are beaten and murdered here in the states. There are still show more men here (white Christian ones, too) that truly believe it is their right to beat their wives and there are women that stay with them. If you know anything about psychology, you understand that self worth has a huge impact on whether you tolerate things like this. Women that are beaten like this, have no self worth or love so they stay cuz "they deserve it" Our culture doesn't accept it but where Souad is from, it is still accepted so how can we expect them to have the courage to fight for their rights. I hope that someday, it will be taboo there, too, and there will be less of this all over the world. We also know that children that watch their moms beaten, tend to be abusers so the men in areas like this also have no hope of change at this time. Education is imperative to changing things like this.

About the book itself, I cannot imagine the pain she has had to endure and the strength and courage to get to where she is today. I applaud her for speaking out about this taboo subject. Good for her. show less

Simply written, it tells a story of a world in which women are worth less, even to their own mothers, than the animals they care for. A world where even little girls are subjected to what is for us unthinkable violence -- and where, at any moment, they may be condemned to death by the very family members whose role, to our Western way of thinking, should be to treasure and protect them.
Told by the victim herself, Souad remembers her traumatic experience and tells us of the horror she went show more through. She grew up with several sisters and a brother. In her culture in the West Bank, it was considered highly unfortunate for a family to have so many females. The fortune comes from the son, in which in Souad's case, her mother only had one. Being born a woman was not something preferred. Souad's abusive father handed his daughters much work to do around the house and the fields, where they grew food for him to sell at the market. Souad's brother on the otherhand, was not required to do any such work. Even as he grew older, he was the prince of the house and was "allowed" to abuse his sisters as well. Like father, like son. This is the discrimination Souad and her sisters put up with during their childhood.

As the book goes on, Souad feels strong emotions towards her neighbor, who in turn, makes the move towards her. All this was done in secret, but an unexpected happening presented itself to the two youngsters. Souad was pregnant. She was not yet married, nor was it her turn to be married. Souad had an older sister that was required to be married before her. Now, Souad is eligible for death.
This might not be a usual story, but it is indeed representative of this repressive and misogynistic culture. show less