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Book Review
MALAYALAM
Agonies of Muslim women
K. KUNHIKRISHNAN
AKASABHOOMIKALUDE THAKKOL — Novel: B. M. Suhara; DC Books, DC Kizhakemuri Edam, Good Shepherd Street, Kottayam-686001. Rs. 125.
IT IS heartening that several Muslim women writers have admirably highlighted the need for social transformation. This novel is a brilliant exposition that strongly condemns polygamy. The agonies of the three wives of a rich Muslim businessman are profiled in a telling manner. The main character is Nooru, the second wife of Hajiyar who spotted her in a group of young college girls and developed a liking for her. Being poor, her parents could not resist the temptation of having a rich, even if old, son-in-law. She wants to be self-supporting and to help the poor and the downtrodden, and engages herself in social work for the uplift of women in distress. Her activities evoke vehement protests from the traditional sections, who even try to trigger a communal flare-up. Hajiyar too gets enraged and threatens her. But she is determined to move forward. The book, set in the context of the sufferings of women in the orthodox Muslim families of the erstwhile Malabar, makes a strong exhortation for a systemic change especially in relation to the status of women. It has been amply brought out that the evils of dowry, the primitive manner of divorce, and the practice of keeping women within the confines of home should be done away with.
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