Sadia was rather relieved by her mother’s way of going about the matter. Her mom, instead of imposing any decision upon her regarding her marriage, something which is the rule in that culture rather than the exception, gave her the choice to decide. She told her she had known Masooma and Sajjawal for a long time and that they were very good people. She told her she was not sure about their son but, should she decide to accept, they would run a background search on him to find out what kind of person he is. Seemingly, mom had no objection; in fact, she was tacitly endorsing the proposal.
Sadia simply did not know how to to respond. Since she knew it was extremely important for a girl of her age, in her culture, to secure a proposal, to get married at the earliest. She knew rejecting an otherwise genuine proposal could cause her many problems. First, and perhaps most important, she would not get another proposal, as good, later. Second, saying no to a proposal in her society would suggest she liked someone else--- something considered loathsome, despicable and all the more unforgivable. Also her mother was happy about this proposal. Despite all this, she still was being tossed on the horns of a dilemma and she was far from being decisive.
She had Kamal in her life. Although it was very difficult for her to get married to Kamal, as things stood, she still did not want to let her thought go away from her mind. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she still clung to the hope of making Kamal her life-partner.
The next few days were really disturbing for Sadia. She simply did not know what to do. Finally, she decided to inform Kamal about this. But before she could write to him, she disclosed the matter with Zunaira. For some crazy reason, Zunaira was jealous. How she could get a proposal, and not her, she thought. Although they were not related in any way, and Sadia’s getting married would not affect Zunaira’s own chances in any way, she still felt bad. And instead of giving her any honest advice, she plainly told her to say no to the proposal citing the reason of her young age. “Why should you shackle your feet so early on, you are a free bird and deserve to remain like this, at least for a few more years,” she told her.
When Sadia informed Kamal, she was not at all happy to know his answer. Kamal told Sadia she should seriously consider the relation, and if worth it, go for it. She further went on to say that he had been thinking over their relation and, it would appear to him, it was rather far from being easy for them to unite. He said he would still wish to give it a try to get married to her but the chances of anything like this happening were rather thin, not because he or she did not want but only because of the circumstances that surrounded them both.
Sadia was rather relieved by her mother’s way of going about the matter. Her mom, instead of imposing any decision upon her regarding her marriage, something which is the rule in that culture rather than the exception, gave her the choice to decide. She told her she had known Masooma and Sajjawal for a long time and that they were very good people. She told her she was not sure about their son but, should she decide to accept, they would run a background search on him to find out what kind of person he is. Seemingly, mom had no objection; in fact, she was tacitly endorsing the proposal.
Sadia simply did not know how to to respond. Since she knew it was extremely important for a girl of her age, in her culture, to secure a proposal, to get married at the earliest. She knew rejecting an otherwise genuine proposal could cause her many problems. First, and perhaps most important, she would not get another proposal, as good, later. Second, saying no to a proposal in her society would suggest she liked someone else--- something considered loathsome, despicable and all the more unforgivable. Also her mother was happy about this proposal. Despite all this, she still was being tossed on the horns of a dilemma and she was far from being decisive.
She had Kamal in her life. Although it was very difficult for her to get married to Kamal, as things stood, she still did not want to let her thought go away from her mind. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she still clung to the hope of making Kamal her life-partner.
The next few days were really disturbing for Sadia. She simply did not know what to do. Finally, she decided to inform Kamal about this. But before she could write to him, she disclosed the matter with Zunaira. For some crazy reason, Zunaira was jealous. How she could get a proposal, and not her, she thought. Although they were not related in any way, and Sadia’s getting married would not affect Zunaira’s own chances in any way, she still felt bad. And instead of giving her any honest advice, she plainly told her to say no to the proposal citing the reason of her young age. “Why should you shackle your feet so early on, you are a free bird and deserve to remain like this, at least for a few more years,” she told her.
When Sadia informed Kamal, she was not at all happy to know his answer. Kamal told Sadia she should seriously consider the relation, and if worth it, go for it. She further went on to say that he had been thinking over their relation and, it would appear to him, it was rather far from being easy for them to unite. He said he would still wish to give it a try to get married to her but the chances of anything like this happening were rather thin, not because he or she did not want but only because of the circumstances that surrounded them both.