Princess: Stepping Out of the Shadows, стр. 49

In my country it is nearly impossible for a female to be treated fairly, so long as all women are treated as children and men have the right to control every aspect of their lives.

At that moment my eyes were clouded with a mist and my entire body began to tremble, although this feeling had nothing to do with my previous medical problem. I was shaking from an anger so great that I was losing control. How can any sane person believe it is a good idea to allow one person – a male guardian – to have control over the females he is supposed to protect? It is a system that must be changed for any real progress to be made in the rights of women in Saudi Arabia.

‘Sara? I must ask again, how will you help Nona? You must be aware that your home is the first place the father will look for his daughter; he already suspects that she is hiding there with Sabrina.’

‘Perhaps we will fly her out of the country,’ Sara said, her eyes closed tighter than ever.

‘If that is your plan, then bring her over here and we will fly her out on our plane. Her father will never assume that we are involved.’

‘She does not have her passport. Her father has it locked in the family safe.’

‘Oh, that is a problem,’ I conceded. Even if we could remove Nona from Saudi Arabia, a passport would be essential for her to begin a new life elsewhere. While being a royal in Saudi Arabia provides many creative possibilities, once we have entered another nation we must adhere to the laws of that land just as all others do.

Clasping my sister’s hand, I lay back once more and closed my eyes, trying to remain calm and to focus once again on what we might do to save Nona from an unforgiving life of pain, sorrow and abuse. This is what she would suffer under the domination of the brutish man her father had chosen to be her husband.

I spoke to myself, although I felt certain my words could be heard by Sara. ‘The dread of hell should torment Nona’s father every day that he lives.’

‘Yes, you are right, Sultana. This is a man who would be an object of contempt even to a barbarian.’

That is when Kareem and Assad sauntered into the room, involved in an animated conversation. When they saw their wives reclining with closed eyes and clasping hands, they both looked surprised and more than a little concerned.

‘Sultana, may I ask what you and Sara are doing?’ Kareem enquired in a high-pitched voice that conveyed his astonishment.

I quickly pushed myself upright, while Sara remained prone with eyes closed. Despite the seriousness of the evening, I burst into laughter when I observed the look of disbelief etched on the faces of my husband and brother-in-law.

‘You would never understand, husband,’ I said with a smile.

Assad quickly regained his equilibrium and walked over to sit beside Sara. ‘Darling, are you unwell?’

Sara sat up, looking sadly at her husband. ‘I still have a pulse, at least,’ she said with a tired smile, ‘but truthfully I am drained of all energy, Assad. It has been a most traumatic day.’

‘Let us go home.’

I sat on the edge of the recliner, then stood up. ‘Where is Nona?’ I asked.

Kareem shushed me, nodding at Sara, so I knew the news was not good.

‘Has something happened to Nona?’ Sara wanted to know.

Assad wrapped his arms around my sister and told her. ‘Yes. I am afraid we have lost her. After I left to go to my offices, her father came to our home demanding the return of his daughter. He yelled until a frightened Nona came out of her hiding room and joined him outside. They left, driving off at high speed. I assume he has Nona back at her home.’

My poor sister was speechless with grief.

‘We cannot save her?’ I asked.

Assad shook his head. ‘I do not see how. He has the law on his side, Sultana.’

‘So she is going to be punished for a crime her father committed?’

At that moment Maha entered the room. She ran to her aunt Sara. ‘I heard what happened. Sabrina called me when Nona’s father appeared at your home, but I could not get there in time to take action. I am sorry, Auntie, I am sorry.’

Sara was inconsolable. With a faraway, haunted look in her eyes, I knew that she was reliving her child-marriage and the abuse she had endured. Painful memories flooded back to her and she trembled as she wept pitiful tears.

I was thinking of what Nona, the bright-faced and once happy girl, would soon suffer. She would have a less-than-medically-safe procedure in her own home to abort the child, without the care of a physician. She would most likely be raped repeatedly by her enraged father until she was given to a man she did not know as his wife. She would, essentially, be the property of a man already known to be brutish, a man who knew nothing, nor cared, of her dreams, her hopes, her ambitions. She would bear children with a man she did not love. In her misery, she would grow old before her time in a marriage filled with pain and suffering.

Maha was red-faced and angry, but she was loving and sympathetic with Sara. She spoke with emphasis. ‘Auntie, you have my promise. My generation is going to destroy this irrational guardianship law. You will see this happen. Remember my words, you will see this happen.’

I thought that my daughter was trying to convince herself, for few men in our country will willingly give up the law that gives them the right to completely control the females in their home. But Maha was adamant.

‘The time is soon coming when these so-called guardians will not be allowed to use the law to abuse the ones they are supposed to protect. No abuser