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Essay / Representation of the sufferings of Somali women through the character of Ebla in the novel by Nuruddin Farah
Ebla is punished for her sin which she had committed by not speaking out against Awill. Farah depicts the sufferings of Somali women through the character of Ebla, as well as the pain that women experience in a male-dominated society. It shows the pitiful condition of women in Somalia who do not speak out against men and who are submissive because they are considered subordinate. When Ebla is hurt psychologically and physically, she questions herself: “Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay “But why is a woman a woman?” Give the man company? To generate it, children? Doing a woman's duty? But that's only in the house. What else? She wondered. A woman is surely indispensable to a man, but do men realize this? Ebla pours out all the emotions questioning herself and tells the men that men and women are equally important, one cannot survive with the help of the other. Ebla highlights the dangerous situation for women that prevails in a society where men must hunt to satisfy their desires. She examines her problems and gets rid of them. She also examines her mistakes and corrects them, carefully she builds her position in a society. After their marriage, Awill fled to Italy for official work, leaving her in Mogadishu. Awill betrayed her by not keeping the promise he made to her. He also cheated on her during the marriage. He told Asha to bring in marriage a sheikh who is unfamiliar to her. After reaching Italy, he was in a relationship with a white lady. By making false promises, he gets closer to women and he breaks off the relationship when dissatisfaction arises in a relationship. This defines that women of all kinds are no exception to the fallacious love shown by the man in a relationship. Not all women who ignore a man's cruel instinct are spared from the damaging mission entrusted to them. Ebla is not passive and impervious to the barbaric activities occurring in her society; she acts against patriarchy when affected by it. She even opposes and continues her stance against patriarchy. She decides to marry a man a second time to get revenge for Awill's relationship with a white woman. Asha talked about a man, Tiffo, and his desire to marry Ebla. The next day, Ebla and Tiffo got married and she claimed it as a secret marriage to Tiffo. Tiffo married Ardo and they have two children who are the same age as Ebla. Ebla hides his marriage to Tiffo and when he finds out, he became furious and divorced Ebla. This reaction of Tiffo towards her marriage to Awill exposes a truth that a man marries four times in his life if he is Muslim, but a woman should not marry more than once. If so, she's a prostitute. When Tiffo asks her about Awill, she boldly replies, "You have another wife and I have another husband." We are equal: you are a man and I am a woman, therefore we are equal. You need me and I need you. A woman must remain a widow if her husband dies at a young age and if they have a male child, she must raise him until he becomes an adult. After that, she has to rely on him for her. Women always depend on men. Ebla's move from one place to another helps her find two women from an urban background who have different ideologies about life and womanhood. Ebla learns to live her life independently by opposing the dominated society.