Woman at Point Zero in Read a book from each country

Mar 05, 2019 Eirini Proikaki rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Η Nawal El-Saadawi είναι αιγύπτια συγγραφέας,ψυχίατρος και ακτιβίστρια για τα δικαιώματα των γυναικών.
Κατά τη διάρκεια μιας έρευνας που έκανε για τις νευρώσεις στις γυναίκες,βρέθηκε και σε μια φυλακή όπου και έμαθε για την Φιρντάους,μια γυναίκα καταδικασμένη σε θάνατο,και ζήτησε να την δει.Η Φιρντάους αρνιόταν να της μιλήσει για αρκετές εβδομάδες,μέχρι που κάποια μέρα αποφάσισε να πει την ιστορία της ζωής της στην γιατρό.
Αυτήν την ιστορία θέλησε να μεταφέρει σε αυτό το βιβλίο η El Saadawi.
Η Φιρν ...more

36 likes · Like · see review

Dec 26, 2023 Rachel rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: mena-challenge-2023, around-the-world, poverty, international-authors, 52-book-club-2023, 50-african-women, cultural-traditions, human-suffering, misogyny, translated

“A man does not know a woman’s value, Firdaus. She is the one who determines her value.”

Woman At Point Zero is a powerful feminist work written and published in the 1970s by prize-winning Egyptian author Nawal El Saadawi. El Saadawi began as a psychiatrist before becoming Minister for Health. Her writings and activism lead to her being removed from this role and to her imprisonment. At one point she fled Egypt due to death threats, but has continued to campaign strongly for women’s rights.

El Saw “A man does not know a woman’s value, Firdaus. She is the one who determines her value.”

Woman At Point Zero is a powerful feminist work written and published in the 1970s by prize-winning Egyptian author Nawal El Saadawi. El Saadawi began as a psychiatrist before becoming Minister for Health. Her writings and activism lead to her being removed from this role and to her imprisonment. At one point she fled Egypt due to death threats, but has continued to campaign strongly for women’s rights.

El Sawaadi writes about her prison visitation to Firdaus, a woman awaiting execution. As Nawal sits on the cold prison floor Firdaus recounts her life story. The book is a fictionalised account of this story, a story of sorrow, hardship and difficulty, yet strength and perseverance. Firdaus is physically and mentally abused in turn by each man in her life. From a lecherous uncle who marries her off at nineteen to a man in his sixties who beats her, to her colleagues, and even men who begin as kind and seemingly well-intentioned. As Firdaus sums up: “All women are victims of deception. Men impose deception on women and punish them for being deceived, force them down to the lowest level and punish them for falling so low, bind them in marriage and then chastise them with menial service for life, or insults, or blows.”

The book is written in a lyrical almost dreamlike fashion. As tragic events shape Firdaus’ philosophy and thinking. The story ends with Firdaus facing her jailers with her truth.
“They said, 'You are a savage and dangerous woman.'
I am speaking the truth. And the truth is savage and dangerous.”

“It is my truth which frightens them. This fearful truth gives me great strength. It protects me from fearing death, or life, or hunger, or nakedness, or destruction. It is this fearful truth which prevents me from fearing the brutality of rulers and policemen. I spit with ease on their lying faces and words, on their lying newspapers.”

I found this book sad as it contains so much violence against one woman but nevertheless it manages to convey strength and truth and highlight the plight of many women around the world. A powerful read. ...more

5 likes · Like · see review