This is Mariam’s comprehension of the way her mother called her a harami, which means bastard. Even though Mariam was too young to understand that Nana was blaming her for being born, Mariam still understood her inflection and was knowledgeable that something was being blamed on her even if it was out of her control. The theme that Mariam is accused of things that she is not in control of appears all throughout the book. I think that it is very unfair and ruthless yet adds more character and substance to Mariam and makes you hurt even more when she becomes a selfless mother-like figure to Laila.
