BY DR SARITA JAIN

[Book Review] Shodh – from subordination to empowerment
TaslimaNasrin a Bangladeshi writer, is a fiery feminist. Though a medical doctor by profession she could not bear the atrocities committed on women by Muslim patriarchs so she turned her hand to writing in order to expose the evils of Bangladeshi society. Recipient of several prestigious awards from both India and abroad,Taslima is an advocate of women emancipation.
In Shodh unlike her other novels,Taslima seeks to revolutionize the concept of love and marriage in the so – called elite yet tradition bound societies. She effects this through a transformation of roles assigned to women as lover, wife, mother and daughter-in-law. In Shodh, Jhumur well educated Bangladeshi girl marries her boy friendHaroon. Haroon lives with his parents and when they marry, Jhumur is expected to live with them like any other Bangladeshi woman. But life with her in-laws is claustrophobic. She was abstained from going anywhere alone and unveiled and as the ‘Bou’ of the house she is expected to do all the cooking, cleaning and looking after the needs and well-being of the members of the family. Though Rosuni and Sakhina were capable of doing all the household work yet Haroon and the family felt gratified if Jhumur took on the charge. She write
‘Rosuni was quite capable of it, but everybody was happy when I took the charge. And Haroon was happy when everybody was happy. I had kept Haroon gratified preparing meals three times a day, doing all the washing and taking care of the house, not once allowing the veil to slip off my head in the one-and-half months we had been married.’
In Bangladeshi society too, where the Muslin patriarchs dominate, the entity of women is that of an inferior being, both intellectually and socially. Jhumur’s main raison d’etre seems to be looking after the members of the family, satisfying the sexual urges of husband and perpetuating species. She was Habib,Hasan, Dolon’sbhabhi, the ‘Bou’ of the house. In other words she was her mother-in-law’s handmaiden. She has lost her own individuality and integrity. She even seemed to forgot her own name. It
was only one day when Anis referred to her as ‘Jhumurbhabhi’ that she remembered she has a name too.
Since the Islamic society is tradition-bound and rudimentary she was debarred from standing in the balcony and having a glimpse of the outside world when she was new to the household. Mother-in-law remarked ‘it doesn’t behove a housewife to stare at people. The neighbours will surely disapprove.’(7)She was not even allowed to roar with laughter or go out alone for shopping or visiting relatives. She was accompanied by a member of the family. Jhumur’s independent streak does not take kindly to this and the last straw comes when she is forced by her husband to abort the first child because he feels that Jhumur cannot conceive within six weeks of their marriage. He was gripped by the fire of suspicion that she had an affair with another man and conceived from him. This was the reason why she hurried for marriage. On the contrary,Jhumur contrived notions that her husband would be ecstatic on knowing her pregnancy and would sing and dance and cradle her in his arms just as Dipu did to Shipra. But Haroon didn’t do any of those things. He was callous and indifferent. She writes ‘I was disappointed he didn’t kiss me or sweep me up in his arms, didn’t dance about the place in joy. I had seen a person dancing cradling someone only once in my life; an exhilarant Dipu whirling Shipra around the floor and had wished to go on living a thousand of years or more…’(pg 1) Ma-in-law was always concerned about her sons and daughter Dolon and never cared about the likes, dislikes, desires and emotions of her daughter-in-law. She always insisted Jhumur to discuss with Haroon about the problems and future carrier of his siblings. Even Haroon in his conversation with Jhumur always enquired about his family without showing any concern towards Jhumur about her likes, dislikes, her problems, her interests. Haroon was running a good business and the entire responsibility of running the household lay on his shoulders. He never discussed the fianance of the household with his wife. He himself managed the entire financial matters and gave money to the members according to their needs. What a dilemma! A wife who is the actual owner has no involvement in her husband’s finances. Haroon gave six lakhs rupees to Anis to start a business in Chittagong and settled his brother in Saudi Arabia without seeking Jhumur’s advice.
The novel exposes the feeling of alienation and deplorable condition of women in orthodox society bound by intricate norms and traditions.Jhumurwas reminded of the days of Haroon’s courtship. How jovial, lovable and considerate he was. He delighted in her singing, would converse with her on telephone for hours and loved her deeply and intensely. He was a free minded person. Jhumur’s Baba had always encouraged his daughter to be independent and has given them higher education and taken care of their needs. He held liberal views about females. She was a care free girl in her parents household. Life changed abruptly once she entered Haroon’s house. He declared ‘They are old-fashioned, don’t address me by name when they are around.’(pg 37)
Haroon was always suspicious and not allowed her to visit her parents in wari. ‘You’re a married woman, you ought not to be visiting your parents so often. They’ll think you’re not happy here.’(51)To aggregate the matter he got the entire phone numbers changed so that she might not remain in touch with her old friends. He did not take her along in social ceremonies or to visit friends and relatives.
‘As I saw him leave I wondered if he was the man who had loved me once, who had taken me time and again to his friend safiques, who had been fond of Rabindrasangeet, loved flowers.’(49-50)
The deplorable condition of women in Muslim society is evident from the fact that she is not allowed to seek job even after possessing post-graduate degree.
‘You’ll work!’ Hareon’s astonishment knew no bounds. ‘Why do you want to work? People work to earn money. Isn’t what I bring home enough for you? You are the elder bou, they all depend on you. You success lies in winning their hearts understand?’(pg 52)
She was caged, entrusted with familial responsibilities unable to realize her desires and ambitions. Men enjoy unlimited freedom, can enter into illicit relationship with any woman, all the bondages are for woman.
Jhumur felt that her ties with the outside world had been severed forever. How she wished to have a glimpse of the outside world and to breathe freely in the open air.
She writes
‘I felt like walking on the black pitch upholstered streets, run barefoot over them and loose myself in play, soar up and up in the surging air.’(pg 61)
Haroon was inflicted with the fire of suspicion that she had an affair with another man before marriage.
‘How would I know … how can I tell whose baby you had in your womb when you stepped in our house. You were in such a hurry to get married, gave me no time to think. Now everything has become clear.’(pg 74)
Jhumur’s body went limp hearing these words and she stumbled onto the floor. He didn’t trust her.
‘Everything had turned upside down- my home my structured existence in the family. A gale had come and swept all away.’(71)
Since Haroon packed all his emotions into those few words, she had no choice but to abort. After abortion she was cared very well by Haroon. She realized that Haroon was in his own way, fond of her. May be he loved her for her goodness yet she couldn’t reconcile this knowledge with his misgiving about him. She couldn’t understand how Haroon could imagine that she could deceive him, pass off someone else’s child as his.
‘And if I were that cunning, a charlatan still worse, a whore why hadn’t he turned me out of his house, dumped me among society’s refuse or declared talak, talak, talak?’(pg 68) Haroon had given her medicines instead and there were traces of smugness on his face and the self-righteous look.
Haroon purchased the house they were living in, a two-storeyed building with a garden. Since they stayed with the family so Jhumur described it as sasurbaree and Ma-in-law was only too pleased with the terminology. Jhumur realized that Haroon
was forever tied to his joint family life and would never opt for a different kind of existence and so she reconciled with the situation.
Anis noticed her depression reminded her of her university degree and suggested her to visit coxbazar or go to cinema, listen to music or spend a few days in wari. He says,
‘What’s the use of a university degree if all you do is sit at home and cook? You can go to cinema, listen to music or else why not go and spend a few days in wari, at your parents?’(pg 95)
After the abortion Haroon was anxious for the advent of a child.She wasn’t allowed to go to wari lest she might deceive Haroon ‘I won’t allow you to fool around with boys, going to wari is just an excuse.’(pg 144) nor was she allowed to step outside the house. Haroon confined her to a carefully chalked out existence- a cage of sorts. She says ‘I felt I would choke and Anis had somehow seen how restless I had become and had suggested I take a few days off and go somewhere. How could I enjoy the sight of the never-ending vista of the blue sky from the corner of a balcony or through the bedimmed windscreen of the car?’(pg 98)
A young couple had rented their ground floor. The wife Sebati, a doctor and her husband Anwar who ran an NGO. Jhumur developed an intimate friendship with Sebati and they shared each other’s secrets. Sebati had a brother-in-law named Afzal who was a painter and was looking for a job. He painted only nude figures. Jhumur had a glimpse of Afzal while standing on the balcony. He was a handsome, good looking man and Ihumur felt drawn towards him. She would always seize an opportunity to have a glimpse of Afzaland was anxious to meet him. One day she went downstairs pretending illness with the excuse of meeting sebati knowing she is not at home. There she had a hearty talk with Afzal and both exchanged glances with each other. She was instinctively drawn towards him.
To her good fortune Hasan fell ill and was admitted to a hospital. The family became busy looking after him. Everyone went to the hospital and the house remained deserted during noons. So in everybody’s absence she met Afzaleveryday in his house
and had sexual encounters with him. In order to get even with Haroon she was determined to become pregnant with Afzal, not with Haroon. This was the way she chose to register her protest for her virginity which was doubted by her husband. No one hand an inkling of their affair.
‘Being a person with a good measure of self-assurance, he could hardly reckon I was secretly meeting Afzal. He wasn’t able to sniff the odour of another man’s body in mine and imagined he was enjoying a whip of my chastity when he held me tightly in his arms.’(145) she did not harbor any sense of guilt about it.
‘I wasn’t a loose woman. I wasn’t deceiving him, I was merely paying him back.’(pg 147)
Haroon seemed to exude untold contentment, comfort and happiness on knowing that Jhumuris pregnant. Due to her pregnancy she ceased to be the object of his anger or spite after days of unbearable suffering. Tears welled up her eyes as she thought of the wasted months when she had kept immured, a captive to his misgivings about her, totally separated from her family and friends. Her infidelity was the expression of her utter loyalty to her own integrity. ‘How could I forgive him ever? Or silently submit to the insults heaped on me? And how could he presume that I wouldn’t pay him back for humiliating me, or that I wouldn’t want to get even with him?’(pg 172)
Haroon had shattered her aspirations, destroyed her dreams. She had been made to do everything for which life had not prepared her.Marriage had enslaved her, took away her freedom. She had hoped for a ‘happy married life which didn’t take away an individual freedom; which respected differences, allowed contradictions and had no place for meanness- a venture built on truth and trust sympathy and compassion. Haroon had crushed my spirit. Why should I not retaliate, why should I not get my own back.’(pg 172)
Haroon waited eagerly for the birth of a child and his joy knew no bounds when Jhumur delivered a baby boy. Haroon and his family viewed the bodily features of Haroon in him whereas Jhumur could glance a mini Afzal in him. There was a festivity
and friends and relatives arrived laden with gifts. The child was nick named as Ananda. For Haroon office was no longer important. He was totally immersed in the care of his son.
After a year, after the birth of Ananda she was completely transformed. She was no longer a helpless woman. She goes out alone unveiled to shop and visit friends and relatives. She accepted the job of a school teacher and surprised Haroon and her friends. Though Haroon was restless when she told him about it but it was clear to him that she was living life on her own terms. She was not like the people he employs in his factory who can’t speak up to him or look him in the face. She says
‘I want to find out how it feels to earn money of one’s own, what it’s like to spend on what one wants. I too wish to give money to others, to you, to Ananda, to my parents. I want to take on the responsibility of others like you have done.’(pg 225)
She breaks traditions and cultures and emerges as a woman fully emancipated. She felt she is strong, someone separate and distinct. She had the inner power to give to civic society. She still cares for the family without surrendering herself. She does not harbor any guilt for bringing Ananda to this world. She took recourse to that to avenge the indignity suffered at the hands of her husband. She is not so insignificant to swallow her utter humiliation and remain beholden to him forever. Patriarchal discourse limits and transcribes the image and identity of women but she crosses the threshold and gains emancipation.
Her heart swells with happiness when Haroon cuddles Ananda and calls him ‘Baba’. She had ‘doused the fire of suspicion that had rages ferociously in Haroon’s heart.’(pg 227)
Nasrin takes great delight in painting the South Asian man as ignorant boors who want (and for the most part get) subservient wives who literally live and breathe just for them. In the novel, the author is also trying to make a point about gender discrimination in many South Asian societies. In this novel, as much as in her other non-fictional works, Nasrin’s personal experience breathes life into the narrative.

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