The Pearl that Broke Its Shell

by Nadia Hashimi

in an Afghanistan eyed lasciviously by Russia and Britain. Each would take turns promising to protect the borders they had just invaded, like a pedophile who professes to love his victim.

People who are beset by tragedy once and twice are sure to grieve again. Fate finds it easier to retrace its treads.

but Padar-jan, just like the rest of the country, had forgotten what normal was.

“Yes, Madar-jan, but sometimes I just don’t want to. They . . . they push each other a lot.” “Then push back.”

“No, she is not for marriage. She is able-bodied and does the work of a man. Sometimes it escapes us that she is, in fact, a girl.

Men could do what they wanted with women. There would be no stopping what Padar had set in motion.

I wondered if it would have made a difference. I wondered if one small difference in the sequence of events would have altered the paths we ended up on.

“Every man is king of his own beard,”

Shekiba did not notice. She had let her mind drift long ago.

Obey the word of God and let Him look after you. Bring your head out of the sky and understand your place in this world.” “I have no place in this world,

My only escape was training my mind to wander when I was with him.

It means that it’s forbidden for other men to enter. Except for the king of course.

Shekib knew in her heart that she would need to act if she were to find her true purpose.

A mother of sons would not be passed from hand to hand like livestock.

“The human spirit, you know what they say about the human spirit? It is harder than a rock and more delicate than a flower petal.”

“She’s taking risks and she just might be a total lunatic, but she’s doing what she wants. And I bet she doesn’t regret it. I bet she’ll keep doing it. That’s what people have to do sometimes to get what they want. Or to be what they want.”

A daughter doesn’t really belong to her parents. A daughter belongs to others,”

Only a daughter could know what it was to cross that line, to feel the freedom of living as the opposite sex. Her

Women should also take their part as women did in the early years of our nation and Islam.

But sometimes you have to act out of line, I suppose. Sometimes you have to take a chance if you want something badly enough.

May Allah give them courage when they are told they are out of line. And may Allah protect them when they seek something better, and give them a chance to prove they deserve more.