Princess, More Tears to Cry by Jean Sasson

Author:Jean Sasson [Sasson, Jean]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Liza Dawson Associates
Published: 2014-08-28T00:00:00+00:00

***

The following week Dr. Meena and Nadia met with Amani and me at my home in Riyadh. Maha had returned to Europe the previous week with her friend Laila, who was overjoyed to be traveling out of Saudi Arabia for the first time in her life.

Amani and Nadia embraced and began conversing as though they had known each other for a lifetime rather than a few months. Dr. Meena nodded in approval, although she did not seem surprised by the camaraderie between Nadia and Amani. Knowing that the doctor was Nadia’s mentor, I assumed that Nadia confided in the doctor all elements of her life, including her new friendship with my daughter.

“Tell me, what has happened with Fatima?” Amani leaned forward with interest while she inquired of Nadia.

I sat silently, truly pleased that Amani was so easily and confidently taking charge. Although I am not old, and thanks be to God I feel young and healthy, with a lot of energy, I know a time will come when I am unable to work so hard. I have always wanted my children to train in the work that I do so that they will be able to meet the challenge of fighting for women’s rights, as I do now. After all, my time on earth will one day end and someone must take my place. If I have learned anything in my short lifetime, it is that there will always be plenty of men working to keep women under their rule. So long as this is so, we women must remain strong to continue the battle for justice.

“Her story grows more tragic by the day, Amani,” Nadia replied.

“Tell me about this Fatima,” I said. Never have I been uninterested in hearing about a woman who needs help.

“Oh, I saw Fatima when I was in Nadia’s offices,” Amani said. “I did not speak with her, but I saw her waiting to speak with Nadia.” Amani looked at me with sad eyes. “This poor girl is only twenty years old, younger than me, but her life has been so brutal that she looks as though she has lived for forty or fifty years.”

“Tell me,” I repeated to Nadia. I knew that such premature aging was an indication of countless troubles.

“Yes, Princess,” Nadia said. “She has suffered much the same as many other Saudi women, and more than most. I will tell you her full story.”

“Yes, you must, Nadia. I know that we can help her,” Amani said with a great passion in her voice.

“Fatima came to my attention when she was admitted into the hospital with severe depression. This was a big problem because she is the mother of twin daughters and had no one to help her care for the children. She was admitted only because one of the secretaries in the outpatient clinic saw her sitting, looking disheveled, with two crying children who appeared to be soiled and hungry. The secretary discovered that the woman had nowhere to go, and that her husband had divorced her.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.