‘My Feudal Lord’ - T.Durrani May 12, 2004
Posted by Simba in : Uncategorized , 5 commentsI just completed ‘My Feudal Lord’ by Tehmina Durrani. Though I bought it elsewhere, U can find it on Granth.com
Book Details - “To the people of Pakistan,, who have repeatedly trusted and supported their leaders - leaders who have,, in return,, used the hungry,, oppressed,, miserable multitudes to further their personal interests. I want the people of my country to know the truth behind the rhetoric,, so that they might learn to look beyond the fa?ade. When this book was first published it shook Pakistani society to its foundations. Here at last was someone who had succeeded in reconciling her faith in Islam with her ardent belief in women’s rights. Tehmina Durrani’s story provides extraordinary insights into the vulnerable position of women caught in the complex web of Muslim society.”
I must say, that it was quite a revealing book!! I was amazed to see such things actually exist in modern families….
I fail to understand how Tehmina has been portrayed as a strong woman breaking away from feudalism. I fail to appreciate her efforts as the whole freedom & emancipation is talked about almost in the last few pages. Is it all there is to this book which shook the entire Pakistani society?? Even in the last few pages, it is very evident that Tehmina still speaks to her ex-husband and also seems to consider his opinion… thats really something!!!
For the uninitiated, this book has made some waves around the world!!! This story is basically a auto biography of a woman from a very very high class muslim society. She is married to Mustafa Khar who was/ is an eminent personality in the Pakistani political scenario. He being a complete weird personality toggles between extremes. Extreme love which can almost be called Obsession and Extreme hatred where he beats her up so badly so often that you wonder how any human being can take it!! This book is really appalling!! And I thought these existed in the lower class of uneducated population….
Anyways.. there might be women who can actually strike a chord with this book!!! But my only take on this is - “Not worth too much time” as throughout I was feeling suffocated by the whole story….Ya, and we talk about Women Lib!!!