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This short graphic novel, Sarah: The Suppressed Anger of the Pakistani Obedient Daughter, though from across the border, tells the story of an almost 18 girl who is aware of and resents the discrimination between her and her brother.
This graphic novel, written and illustrated by Ayesha Tariq, tells the tale of Sarah who is almost 18 and who is bottled up at home by her family, forced to wash dishes and do all kinds of chores around the house. She is aware of the problem – her brother gets away with anything because he is a boy and even has the bigger room while the family is contemplating shoving Sarah into the smaller servant’s room which is lying empty. Not that that happens, but Sarah is aware of it. Ayesha Tariq’s bright, bold illustrations and snappy text illustrate Sarah’s plight vividly.
Of course while Tariq and Sarah are Pakistani, there is nothing particularly Pakistani or even Muslim about Sarah’s plight. Many Hindi girls from conservative backgrounds have the same problem. Issues of clothes, being allowed to go to study with a friend and then being escorted back by the friend’s brother and the suitable-unsuitable matches trotted out occasionally by the local matchmaker. There is also an uncle with groping hands, complaints about whom are ignored by the mother.
Sarah feels that she is being ‘objectified’ a problem she has in common with the goats paraded for Bakri Eid and with other girl children of her age group. What is alarming is that Tariq has no solution to offer because Sarah is a girl who loves her family. She actually is obedient in every respect but wants to be respected as a person in her own right. However she knows no other world beyond the confines of her home – even though she studies and occasionally visits a friend. Hers is the family circle and because of that, the end is quite unexpected in one sense, given the fact that this is a work of fiction.
Tariq uses the graphic image of a bottle as a symbol for suppression throughout. At one point empty, at another filled with different emotions. The protests remain corked inside – the implication is that Sarah is resigned to her fate whatever that might be.
You can buy the book at Flipkart, Amazon India, and Amazon US.
Image source: amazon.com
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Neena was the sole caregiver of Amma and though one would think that Amma was dependent on her, Neena felt otherwise.
Neena inhaled the aroma that emanated from the pan and took a deep breath. The aroma of cumin interspersed with butter transported her back to the modest kitchen in her native village. She could picture her father standing in the kitchen wearing his white crisp kurta as he made delectable concoctions for his only daughter.
Neena grew up in a home where both her parents worked together in tandem to keep the house up and running. She had a blissful childhood in her modest two-room house. The house was small but every nook and cranny gave her memories of a lifetime. Neena’s young heart imagined that her life would follow the same cheerful course. But how wrong she was!
When she was sixteen, the catastrophic clutches of destiny snatched away her parents. They passed away in a road accident and Neena was devastated. Relatives thronged her now gloomy house and soon it was decided that she should be married off.
Women today don’t want to be in a partnership that complicates their lives further. They need an equal partner with whom they can figure out life as a team, playing by each other’s strengths.
We all are familiar with that one annoying aunty who is more interested in our marital status than in the dessert counter at a wedding. But these aunties have somehow become obsolete now. Now they are replaced by men we have in our lives. Friends, family, and even work colleagues. It’s the men who are worried about why we are not saying yes to one among their clans. What is wrong with us? Aren’t we scared of dying alone? Like them?
A recent interaction with a guy friend of mine turned sour when he lectured me about how I would regret not getting married at the right time. He lectured that every event in our lives needs to be completed within a certain timeframe set by society else we are doomed. I wasn’t angry. I was just disappointed to realize that annoying aunties are rapidly doubling in our society. And they don’t just appear at weddings or family functions anymore. They are everywhere. They are the real pandemic.
Let’s examine this a little closer.
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