The Pearl That Broke Its Shell

Khala Shaima regrets that Raisa’s girls were not allowed a proper education. She realizes its importance; for her, even knowing how to read is “a candle in a dark room” (224). Rahima doubts this; she went to school for several years as a bacha posh and it did not help her out at all. Khala Shaima believes that Raisa is protecting herself through her drug use: It numbs her and allows her to endure Arif’s abuse. Rahima is bitter: She sometimes sees her mother as her “father’s coconspirator” (224). Khala Shaima changes the subject to Abdul Khaliq. Rahima is surprisingly ignorant of her husband’s activities. Khala Shaima tells her he got his power and riches “[b]y ransoming, stealing, killing and then washing up and looking pretty for the westerners who either don’t know any better or pretend not to” (225).

Rahima tells her about the plan for one of Abdul Khaliq’s wives to run for parliament. Khala Shaima says that it is a charade: The constitution only allowed women in parliament because tradition would keep them oppressed. Any of Abdul Khaliq’s wives in government would still be under his control, meaning the seat would effectively be his.