The Pearl That Broke Its Shell

On the day of the speech, Shekiba waits in the crowd with Mahnaz and Shah. She reproaches herself for ever having hoped to marry Amanullah. Shah is not seven years old. Gulnaz resents Shekiba for having been invited out by Mahnaz. Shekiba thinks of the harem, of her time dressed as a man, and wonders what Shah would think. She thinks, “Only a daughter could know what it was to cross that line, to feel the freedom of living as the opposite sex” (405). She is pregnant again.

Mahnaz was married to Agha Khalil after seeing him only once. Khalil had some disagreements with the previous government, and his family was exiled to the countryside. Now he is close with the king and queen. King Amanullah and Queen Soraya take the stage. The people love their king. Shekiba smiles at his nobility, wondering if he would recognize her. Queen Soraya takes the podium, and, to the crowd’s surprise, she “looked at her husband and pulled her head scarf off of her head!” (407). King Amanullah declared that the head scarf is not required in Islam. Soraya is named minister of education.

Soraya gives a speech on the importance of women to the future of Afghanistan. She advocates for women seeking education. Shekiba is aware that this is an historic day, that things will change for women. However, she knows that “Queen Soraya was speaking of changes that wouldn’t affect her” (408). Shekiba realizes that she has avoided a worse naseeb. She knows that this is where her story ends, but she prays for her children and future generations to have “a life that’s less bitter than sweet” (409).

Rahima struggles to keep her composure, trying to decide what to do. She decides to go with Hamida and Sufia, knowing she is doomed whether she goes with them or Badriya. Sufia knows something is wrong. She asks Rahima. Though she had not intended to say anything, her “story just flowed out” (412). She tells them about her past, about Parwin, her parents, Jahangir, and the conversation between the two bodyguards. Hamida and Sufia are not surprised; Rahima merely confirmed what they had expected. They escort her to the women’s resource center to speak in private. 

Rahima convinces Badriya that she has a stomach illness and must stay at the hotel that day. Hassan reluctantly volunteers to stay behind to keep an eye on her to avoid further angering Abdul Khaliq. When she is alone, Rahima cuts the rest of her hair, finishing what Abdul Khaliq had started. She changes into clothes she took from Hashmat and slips quietly into the hall. She trips and alerts Hassan, but he thinks she is a boy and merely yells at her to be more careful. Rahima is Rahim again. She flees in the opposite direction of parliament, looking for a place to hide. 

Rahima slips easily into the role of bacha posh. She hurries along, feeling as though all eyes are on her. However, the disguise works. She makes her way onto a crowded bus headed for Wazir Akbar Khan, a suburb of Kabul; she is the only woman on board. She manages to get off at the correct stop. Rahima gets lost, and nobody will give her directions. She sees a sign advertising Shekiba’s Beauty Shop. It is “as if a hand was holding mine, guiding me” (420). She sees her destination across the street: a tea shop, where Ms. Franklin is waiting. 

Ms. Franklin and Rahima go from the tea house to a women’s shelter, a different one than the one where Fakhria works. Rahima meets women with devastatingly tragic stories. One girl is Rahima’s age; she had been married off at age 12 and “Four years later, she had run off, escaping the in-laws who treated her as a slave” (421).

Rahima is still terrified that Abdul Khaliq will somehow find her. Hamida and Sufia are only able to visit her once. If they were to visit too often, it “could attract the wrong attention and endanger everyone involved” (422). She will always be grateful them and Ms. Franklin for helping her escape the naseeb of returning to Abdul Khaliq. Rahima feels bad for Badriya, who no doubt received the brunt of Abdul Khaliq’s wrath.

Rahima finally has time to reflect. She is sorry that she told Khala Shaima that her education had served her no good. In reality, it is because she could read and write that she was able to go to Kabul and escape Abdul Khaliq. Her biggest regret is being unable to send word to Khala Shaima that she is safe. She is finally able to send a coded letter to her aunt. It speaks of “nothing but the smell of fresh air, the delightful sound of birds chirping, and the hope that the family could pay a visit soon” (423). Years later, Rahima hears that Khala Shaima’s sister, Zeba, found Khala Shaima’s lifeless body holding the letter. Zeba was distraught and could not read. At Khala Shaima’s grave, she has her husband read the letter to her. Rahima’s “letter was signed Bibi Shekiba” (423).