A Woman Is No Man

Silence dominates the house. No one speaks to each other, and no one calls. Isra feels isolated, and when Deya tries to connect with her, she pushes her away and then feels guilty about it.

Nadine is now pregnant with her third son. Unlike Isra, she engages fully with her children, and Isra resents her for it. Khaled approaches Isra in the kitchen and apologizes for his accusations the night she ran away. He believes Sarah’s disappearance is God’s punishment for his behavior. Isra asks him if he’d ever like to return to Palestine, but he is unsure. He remembers how difficult his life was growing up in a refugee camp. Despite his family’s abject poverty, however, he remembers the tight-knit community of the camp, where families would share food and resources. Khaled mourns the passing of time and the loss of the life he once knew. Isra thinks that the few material comforts she enjoys in America are not worth the loss of community and sense of belonging.

Reading her mother’s letters, Deya has an epiphany. She realizes how similar she is to Isra, both women prioritizing others’ needs over their own. She hears the familiar voice inside of her, urging her to remain quiet, to suppress her dreams, and to take the safe and easy path. Despite her love for her family and her desire to not lose them, she finally realizes the voice inside her all these years has been a lie and that seeking her own life is the only truth worth pursuing. She resolves to apply to college, and she visits Sarah again to tell her of her decision. As she leaves, she asks Sarah to find the courage to return home.

Adam decides to take their daughters out of public school and enroll them in an Islamic school instead. Isra reluctantly agrees, fearing the public school will corrupt them. She becomes pregnant a fifth time, but rather than telling anyone, she aborts the pregnancy by jumping off the stairs and pounding her fist into her belly until she bleeds.

Later that night, Isra changes her mind about her daughters’ school. She tells Adam she fears what will happen if they force their children onto the same path as she and Sarah. Enraged at being questioned, Adam beats her severely, but Isra finally find the courage to endure the beatings and defend her daughters.

Deya is accepted to New York University. She informs Fareeda in no uncertain terms that she will be attending in the fall. To her surprise, Fareeda does not protest. Deya then tells her that Sarah wants to come home, but she is afraid. Fareeda replies, “Tell her I’ve changed, daughter” (334).

Walking through the stacks at the NYU library, Deya thinks about all the stories in all the books she sees before her. She is inspired not to look for her own story on the library shelves but to write it herself.

After her last beating, Isra cannot abandon her daughters to a similar fate. Gathering the girls’ birth documents, cash from Adam’s drawer, and gold from under Fareeda’s mattress, she leaves the house and waits for Deya and Nora at the bus stop. When the bus arrives, she leads the girls to the subway station. They descend to the platform and board the train. Isra is not sure where they are going, but she doesn’t care. She has escaped. She is free.