It was a crime that normally would have resulted in her
death, even before an arrest was made. Zeba is found in
her backyard next to her husband's dead body. She's
covered in blood but doesn't say a word about how the
hatchet ended up in Kamal's body. Yusuf is an idealistic
attorney, returning back to Afghanistan to assist with
legal cases. Zeba's case is assigned to Yusuf, but will
he be able to help his silent client?
I have a love/hate relationship with A HOUSE WITHOUT
WINDOWS. I absolutely love Zeba's story, even more so as
the full picture of that horrific day emerges. Zeba isn't
an easy character to like initially, as her perspective
is so different from my own, and yet I began to see the
depth of her strength and courage as the story
progresses. Her confinement at Chil Mahtab highlights the
plight of women in Afghanistan as we see the wide range
of "crimes" that can lead to a woman's incarceration.
However, Nadia Hashimi takes us on a meandering journey
throughout the lives of each and every one of the
characters, giving us perhaps a bit more background on
other characters that detracts from the storyline. We
didn't need the full history of Zeba's mother, Gulnaz, in
order to enjoy the story nor did we need the sidetracking
to Yusuf's attempt at a personal romance. I found myself
skimming these sections in order to return to the far
more powerful stories of the women incarcerated at Chil
Mahtab.
A HOUSE WITHOUT WINDOWS is a stunning cultural
exploration of the role of women in Afghanistan. Seeing
the plight of the various women incarcerated at Chil
Mahtab is a shocking portrait of the injustices handed
down to women for crimes against the morality of the
ruling powers. A HOUSE WITHOUT WINDOWS is well worth
reading, despite the slower parts, as the overall
storyline and message are very relevant to today's
headlines.
A vivid, unforgettable story of an unlikely sisterhood—an
emotionally powerful and haunting tale of friendship that
illuminates the plight of women in a traditional
culture—from the author of the bestselling The Pearl
That Broke Its Shell and When the Moon Is Low.
For two decades, Zeba was a loving wife, a patient mother,
and a peaceful villager. But her quiet life is shattered
when her husband, Kamal, is found brutally murdered with a
hatchet in the courtyard of their home. Nearly catatonic
with shock, Zeba is unable to account for her whereabouts at
the time of his death. Her children swear their mother could
not have committed such a heinous act. Kamal’s family is
sure she did, and demands justice.
Barely escaping a vengeful mob, Zeba is arrested and jailed.
As Zeba awaits trial, she meets a group of women whose own
misfortunes have also led them to these bleak cells:
thirty-year-old Nafisa, imprisoned to protect her from an
honor killing; twenty-five-year-old Latifa, who ran away
from home with her teenage sister but now stays in the
prison because it is safe shelter; and nineteen-year-old
Mezhgan, pregnant and unmarried, waiting for her lover’s
family to ask for her hand in marriage. Is Zeba a
cold-blooded killer, these young women wonder, or has she
been imprisoned, as they have been, for breaking some social
rule? For these women, the prison is both a haven and a
punishment. Removed from the harsh and unforgiving world
outside, they form a lively and indelible sisterhood.
Into this closed world comes Yusuf, Zeba’s Afghan-born,
American-raised lawyer, whose commitment to human rights and
desire to help his motherland have brought him back. With
the fate of this seemingly ordinary housewife in his hands,
Yusuf discovers that, like Afghanistan itself, his client
may not be at all what he imagines.
A moving look at the lives of modern Afghan women, A
House Without Windows is astonishing, frightening, and
triumphant.
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