Burned Alive: A Victim of the Law of Men
From The Human Rights Project
by Souad
Hardcover: 240 pages
Publisher: Warner Books (May 11, 2004)
Language: English
ISBN: 0446533467
Born in a remote Palestinian village in the Occupied Territory, Souad (not her real name) committed a cardinal sin at the age of 17 - she fell in love and became pregnant. When her lover refused to marry her, Souad became the object of ire of her entire family. She suffers the beatings of her father, the taunts of her sisters and brother and the murderous attempts of her family to end her life, from being burned alive by her brother-in-law, to an attempted poisoning by her own mother. Finally, with the help of a western aid worker, she escaped to the west, where she now lives with three children and her husband.
The book is narrated by the woman who calls herself Souad, with occasional chapters by the aid worker who saved her. A slim volume, Burned Alive is a quick read, though by no means an easy one.
The difficulty in reading this book does not come from the language - which is quite simple, being the narration of a largely illiterate woman -, nor does it come from the size, which, as mentioned earlier, is small.
It comes from the content of the book, which will have the reader seething in rage at the cruelty and inhumanity of the author's family. That this could happen, in this day and age, even some 20-odd years ago, is an unspeakable shame. The author's anger and pain comes through with such raw force that at times, the reader is forced to pause and allow the intensity of this story to abate, before continuing.
Poignant, heartfelt, and simmering with emotion, this book ought to be required reading for anyone who has any concern at all for women's rights in the Middle East. That Souad went through this experience at all is downright disgusting, shameful and a stain on our faith and society; that the practice of honor killing still continues in this day and age is as great a matter of concern as terrorism itself.
