The socio-economic dynamics of the AIDS/HIV Pandemic. Non-profit management. Children, I guess. International womens' issues.
I walk along a dirt path followed by my father, my uncle, and a friend who has been acting as an intermediary. The June night burns with the heat of the day; the birds are asleep, the goats too. Somewhere a dog barks. Ahead I see men, more than 100 of them, illuminated by a light at the entrance of the Mastois' farm.I spread a shawl out at the feet of the Mostois as a sign of allegiance. From memory, I recite a verse from the Koran. holding my hand on the holy book: "If my brother has committed an offense, I ask pardon in his place, and I ask you to set him free." One of the men, Faiza, shakes his head in disdain.I pray silently, and then fear strikes, like a monsoon, numbing my body with a lightning bolt: Now I see in his eyes that he wanted a Gujar women so that he could take revenge in front of the entire village. I am there, true, but it isn't me anymore: This petrified body, these collapsing legs no longer belong to me . I am about to faint, but I never get the chance-they drag me away like a goat led to slaughter. Men's arms pulled my clothes, my shawl, my hair. "Release me!" I scream. "in the name of God, let me go!" Escape is impossible. Prayer is impossible. They rape me, on the beaten earth of an empty stable. Four men. I don't know how long that viscious tortured lasted. An hour? All night? I lose all consciousness of myself, but will never forget the faces of those animals. They know a women humiliated in that way has no other recourse except suicide. They don't even need to use their weapons. Rape kills her. They shove me outside, half naked before the eyes of the village, my shawl draped over my face, drifting like a ghost to my family's house. My father and my uncle follow me from a distance. For several days, I leave my family's house only to relieve myself, but I never eat, cry, or speak. I have made up my mind, I want to kill myself. I will swallow acid and die to put out forever the fire of shame that torments my family and me. I beg my mother to go buy some acid. My mother bursts into tears, and by staying at my side day and night she foils my suicide attempt. I can't sleep, and she won't let me die. For several days, I go insane with helplessness. Finally, out of nowhere, a surprising fit of anger saves me from that stupor. NOW IT IS MY TURN TO SEEK REVENGE. --Mukhtar Mai, In The Name Of Honor
Crime and Punishment in Suburbia, Donny Darko, City of God, Better Luck Tomorrow, Prozak Nation, Mermaids, Casa Blanca, The Notebook, The Good Girl, The Secretary, Sleepers, Garden State, The Little Princess, Panic In Needle park the Graduate, Y Tu Mama Tambien
Campus Ladies
I'm always open for suggestions...