(A prologue)
"What's wrong in supporting them? You should be thankful, like other war-struck countries. Your dignity is not tarnished. It's because of them that you stay here ... safe and protected," Agha Bi said in a stern, unwavering voice.
Before Washma, no one had ever dared to raise their voice against her decisions.
"Safe... protected... not raped? Agha Bi, with due respect, I am deeply disappointed in your thinking. Do you think rape is only of the body?" Washma's voice slurred with the intensity of her emotions.
"They raped our freedom ... our dreams, Agha Bi. Here, women are treated like animals, tied with ropes in barns."
She wiped the tears from her hardened eyes.
"Washma! Downcast your gaze, and keep your tongue caged between your teeth! Lower your voice!" Agha Bi roared.
For a moment, Washma shivered. All her life, she had feared Agha Bi.
"Till this moment, not a single soul dared to stand and raise a voice in front of me. I listened today only because you are my eldest granddaughter ... and because I saw myself in you. But next time, your tongue will be hanged at the entrance ... so that no other girl of this tribe dares raise her voice before me!"
"I stayed quiet ... every day, facing death ... but not anymore! Agha Bi, for the sake of the God we worship five times a day... please end this. They are bloody murderers!"
Her voice cracked.
"Agha Bi, just look at this woman. She's the one who happily accepted this suffocating cage. She never did anything against your wretched society ... yet what did she get in return? Bruises, wounds... disgrace.
What was her crime, Agha Bi?
Was it simply wanting to see her son walk through the school gate?"
Agha Bi's gaze lingered on the woman who had been beaten by the opressors for violating the rule that women must not leave the house without a mature male ... father, brother, husband, or adult son.
"Look at how brutally they whipped her... she can't even stand properly. This is no less than rape. Please, stop supporting them. This is brutality in the name of protection!"
"If only you could understand, Agha Bi... this is a slap on womanhood and a blow to our dignity."
Washma had no end to her pain... but she paused, lifting her gaze to the woman who was the idol of every woman in the Wazir tribe...her grandmother, Afghani Bibi."
In a male-dominated community, Agha Bi had risen to become the leader of one of the most powerful tribes in Afghanistan.
She had lost two sons in the war with Russia, yet didn't shed a single tear .... because she never wanted anyone to see her weak. That's what was demanded of her: to stay strong for her tribe. She couldn't afford to be vulnerable, couldn't let her emotions break her, because she didn't want her tribesmen to think their tribe was in the hands of a weak woman.
But today... Washma's words shook her soul.
She knew every word Washma said was true.
But she was helpless.
Women in this country were only considered "safe" if they remained confined to their homes ... no matter how suffocated and helpless they felt.
And once again, Washma's voice tore through the silence.
"Please, Agha Bi, please... this is not protection. This isn't dignity. This is brutality. Please, don't support them anymore..."
Her voice mixed with gasps and desperate sobs.
Agha Bi's eyes lingered on the girl she loved the most in her life.
She often saw herself in Washma ... rebellious, bold, unafraid to challenge the norms set for women.
But over time, Agha Bi had learned that the only escape from this hell... was death.
Inside the guest room, Zain sat silently, stunned.
Who was this woman who dared to raise her voice against Afghani Bibi?
He had seen strong-built men tremble in her presence.