Sold
Zana Muhsen, born and bred in Birmingham, is of Yemeni origin. When her father told her she was to spend a holiday with relatives in North Yemen, she jumped at the chance. Aged 15 and 13 respectively, Zana and her sister discovered that they had been literally sold into marriage, and that on their arrival they were virtually prisoners. They had to adapt to a completely alien way of life, with no running water, dung-plastered walls, frequent beatings, and the ordeal of childbirth on bare floors with only old women in attendance. After eight years of misery and humiliation Zana succeeded in escaping, but her sister is still there, and it seems likely that she will now never leave the country where she has spent more than half her life. This is an updated edition of Zana's account of her experiences.
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Community Reviews
As Lakshmi's mother says near the beginning of the book, "Simply to endure... is to triumph." After the betrayal of her step-father, she is sold into a brothel while believing she was off to the city to works as a maid. She has dreams before that, for imaging what may be costs nothing. She denies her dreams of food, she wonders about the night air and possibility when she is getting a friend. She treasures the little things - a pencil, a free cup of tea. She endures.
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