"Silent Protest" Short Story by Shadi Eskandani
“Silent Protest” is a short story by Shadi Eskandani about Muslim women who are protesting silently to reclaim their freedom against discrimination. Muslim women are suffering some political problem including being watched by unknown security guards, border problems passing through the U.S. and the invasion of privacy. But Muslim women constantly protest against this kind of discrimination silently until the end of the story. “The Mother” is a poem by Gwendolyn Brooks, which describes the sentiment of poor women who have aborted a child. The poem is about mothers who have had an abortion, and it reveals how the speaker in the poem feels as a mother. The mother of the poem feels guilty and suffers from regret. Both the story and the poem talk about the experience of women that suffer social expectations and the reality of unfair treatment. Muslim women in the story are restricted to wear a hejab in public and can’t cut their hair, and the mother who has had abortions is not free of her guilt.
Society's Unfair Expectations for Women
Society has particular and unfair expectations for women. As a matter of course, women are suffering in the society that requires responsibilities of being women that include giving birth and having a strict standard as women in some cultures. In the story, Muslim women have to follow a certain standard for the way they look. In the poem, mothers are expected to give birth even though she might not be able to manage taking care of her baby. Two Muslim women, Sara and Hamida, point out in the story, ‘“so as I was saying, I want to shave my head” / “Don’t be ridiculous, that is going to look horrible”’ (Eskandani). Their conversation means that it is restricting Muslim women to be bald. One of the women is saying that being bald looks ridiculous and she would regret about it. It is clear that there is a silent expectation as Muslim women not to be bald. Sara and Hamida continue to talk, ‘“maybe then you'll be forced to hejab to save yourself from the humiliation! / Hejab? Never. I'll leave that to you two.’” (Eskandani). This conversation also describes the fact that Muslim women wear a hejab to cover their head as a cultural requirement. The fact that Muslim women wear hejab can also have an unfair expectation of women. In the poem, the women also feel restricted. The author of the poem says, “I have heard in the voices of the wind the voices of my dim killed children. / I have contracted. I have eased” (lines 11-12). These lines represent the feeling of the mother who has had an abortion. She felt guilty and regretted the abortion, which can be due to her awareness of the responsibility of providing for the children. The writer of the poem says, “Abortions will not let you forget” (line 1). This line illustrates the mother's love and sorrow of losing a child. Both lines signify the societal expectation that the mother should nurture her child even if she could not take care of the child.
Discrimination and Unfair Treatment
Having unfair expectation can lead to discrimination in both the story and the poem. In the story, Muslim women are protesting silently against their freedom to retrieve rights like in the thesis of the story. For instance, ‘“not details, but I heard they kept her for nine and a half hours and harassed her. I mean, they were asking her stuff, like her sex life!’” (Eskandani) This dialogue is discriminating against Muslim women. It is a conversation about the experience of Muslim women discriminated by the United States just because the woman was Muslim. They even ask some personal stuff like sex life that the woman could be embarrassed and disgraceful. One of the Muslim women says, “she is put on some list where she has to check in with the U.S. officials every time she enters and leaves the country” (Eskandani). The woman, even after earning the citizenship is still forced to go through the hectic process of checking up with the officials. In the poem, of course, there is also discrimination against women. According to the overall content of the poem, the mother is suffering from the feeling of guilt and sorrow. The fact that only mothers are suffering is not fair.
Realistic Portrayal of Women's Suffering
Therefore, both the story and the poem are realistic. Realistic can be either real or show reality and seriousness of women’s suffering in the society. The story is a fiction that is based on the truth and experience of Muslim women, and the poem also describes the details of abortion and the mother’s emotion looking at the scene of death. For example, one of the Muslim women says, ‘“Hey, does anyone know the details of Sahar's U.S. border story?’, ‘Not details, but I heard they kept her for nine and a half hours and harassed her.’” (Eskandani). This conversation between the protesting Muslim women shows the reality that Muslim women have difficulties crossing the border of another country. Besides, according to the text, ‘“they are looking over at us and rapidly taking down notes on their pads of paper. / They, along with the security guards, look over at us and begin scribbling on their pads of paper.’” (Eskandani). It shows that eyes are monitoring the Muslim women by some political group. According to the author of the poem, “The damp small pulps with a little or with no hair / the singers and workers that never handled the air” (lines 3-4). These lines describe the abortion scene of the fetus in great detail. The detailed description of abortion scene points out the reality of the abortion. Even though the mother knows that abortion is a morally wrong thing, but she had executed it. In addition, the author of the poem illustrates, “And your lives form your unfinished reach / If I stole your births and your names” (lines 17-18) / "Believe me, I loved you all. Believe me, I knew you though faintly and loved, I loved you All." (Lines 31-33). These quotes express the sorrow and regret of the mother after the abortion of her child. These details also show the seriousness of abortion. The abortion is a socio-economic problem that are done in the poem, and the mother of the child is regretting and feeling guilty after the fetus die.
The Plight of Women and Unspoken Frustrations
Notably, the process of conception involves both men and women, and it can be considered unfair how the women have to go through the challenges alone, which may prompt them into aborting and later regrets. Hence, the poem in similarity with the story depicts the everyday plight of Muslim women that are mostly brought about by the societal as well as cultural expectations that are laid out to them in everything they do in life. Furthermore, the plight is also a result of the perception people have towards the women in question. For instance, Sahar is frustrated at the border of the United States through the invasion of her privacy because those at the border perceive her to be a lesser being and see no problem in asking her about her sex life.
In Conclusion
In conclusion, in both the story and the poem that is realistic and portray what women go through, the author and the poet show the cultural and societal plight of women. The two literature exhibit how the standards set in the society, as well as the perceptions individuals have towards women, bring suffering and hectic experiences in their lives. Unfortunately, the women have to go through these frustrations and discriminations without speaking out as shown in the story, the best they can do is silently protest. In the poem, it is even worse because the woman suffers from within because of her acts of abortion. These instances show that in as much as the women may be going through these discriminations, they are not in a position to air their frustrations and whatever they are compelled to go through in their daily lives.
