The Role Of Women In Firdaus's Woman At Point Zero

Woman at point zero is a book about a female named Firdaus who lives in Egypt and grows up and lives in a belittling environment. Firdaus along with other females in this book are constantly faced with an uphill battle. The men in this book, and even occasionally women, have proved to consistently degrade women and beat them, leaving the women to be silent and take what is given to them or what happens to them. Woman in this book are expected to be silent and weak.
Throughout the book women are forced to be silent due to their lack of power and respect. As a young girl Firdaus grew up with her mother and father both of whom pushed Firdaus down to be less of a person than she was. Firdaus’ mother once even punished her for a task Firdaus’ …show more content…
Firdaus faces this problem when she tries to find a job with her secondary certificate. Everyone Firdaus talks to about finding a good job with her certificate tells her she can’t do anything with it, it’s not good enough which means she isn’t good enough. Even Firdaus’ uncle who helped grow Firdaus’ love of learning and education demeans her for her secondary certificate. When speaking alone to his wife Firdaus’ uncle tells her, “It’s not easy to find work these days when all you have is a secondary school certificate.” (35). This comment made by her uncle does not stop Firdaus’ from looking for work. Eventually Firdaus finds a job with an office however it’s not what she imagined. While at her new job Firdaus has an encounter with a coworker who mocks Firdaus for loving a man: “You’re living an illusion. Do you believe the words of love they whisper in the ears of penniless women like us?” (83). Firdaus goes on to tell the women she’s wrong however she is right. Firdaus’ coworker had been marginalized by men before and knew how the story goes, women are deemed insignificant - especially those on the bottom like Firdaus. When Firdaus goes back out on her own to be a prostitute she is faced with another troubling problem. A pimp, Marzouk, declared that, “Every prostitute has a pimp to protect her from other pimps, and from the police. That’s what I’m going to do.” (92). Firdaus tried to tell him that she is more than capable of protecting herself but Marzouk thought otherwise and became her pimp, taking most of her earnings. It’s more than common in this book for men to think that women are incapable without their help and even women fall into this