Review of Daughters of Shame

Welcome back.. Here is a book I have reviewed for my literature final exam. i provide the synopsis and other staff you may like. read it, comment it and share it. 

The novel “Daughters of Shame” is a true story of Jasvinder Sanghera struggle in fight for human rights. Her poignant life experience inspired her to bring the topic of forced marriage into the public eye and encourages the victims of honor-based crime to live their own life, all she did so no one else have to suffer like her for reasons of keeping tradition.

Many South Asian women suffer the same agony as equally Jasvinder. Her parents disowned her because she was run away when she forced to marry the man she hadn’t met. Then she fight to live on her own, live in fear and loneliness, until she met a person who experienced the same as hers. She listened to Jasvinder’s story and then she understood. From this point she had the courage to continue her life and helps other who shares the same suffering.

Jasvinder was decided to make a real move to help the victim. She founded Karma Nirvana, a community to refuge, to help and to guide women who run away from their family because of their horrifying story, Story of rape, murder, incarceration, mutilation etc. at the hands of their close family and in the name of “izzat” or Honor”. The community manage by Jasvinder herself and supports from the victim who intent to help other victim. The main goal of this community is to encourage the victim. Since it was founded until now, Karma Nirvana not only supports women but man and couples who needs help.

Furthermore, Jasvinder held several time seminars in several place to campaign the honor-based crime to the public. At the end of every seminar, there was always a person who wanted to talk directly to Jasvinder or phone her office to ask for help, suggestion or anything they might need. Now, Karma Nirvana not only supported by victims but also by police, social worker, or human rights agency.

Even though, on her mission to help the victim of forced marriage, she often terrorized by the unknown people. She suspected as a person who wants to change a longstanding tradition. She found the word “NO SHAME” written on her windshield as in chapter 7 and the spreading of human feces all over her windows office as mentioned in chapter 26. Despite from that, she never surrender, nor ever quit or run away from her noble duty, then she asked the police for help so she could continue to defense the liberty of South Asian women from the abuse of their family.

At the end of story, some parents are touching to what had happen to their Families. This happened when they watched a talk show of forced marriage in television or read it in magazines. Some calls their son to apologize, they were sorry for what they have done. But others parents are disowned their daughter even worse.

After all what Jasvinder had been through, disowned by the family, helping people with the same problem as hers, terrorized by the unknown people, now all her suffering has paid the price as she received many Awards. She received one of the prestigious Women of the Year award in 2007, and also received the McWhirter Foundation Award 2007, Best Magazine Bravest Woman Award 2007 and the Inspiration Award for Women 2008.

Theme of the novel

The main theme of the novel is forced marriage. Jasvinder described forced marriage which was happen in South Asian Society in Brittan, where a mother forces her daughter to marry a stranger man at the very young age. Jasvinder wanted that this violence must be stopped. And she did make a continuous improvement to help those daughters.

Message of the novel

            After reading the whole pages of this novel, I found many messages that Jasvinder brought on her story. I believe some of her experience which contains a moral message which is might be applicable for all of us - as a man or a woman- in our daily life, and some are applicable in different circumstances.

Overall message of the novel is to encourage our self in struggle to live, to decide the difficult choices, to help each other, to stand and fight for our own rights, all these horrifying stories of forced marriage victims tell about this. And the paramount important message is never to give up on evil thing happen to us, there will always a way for us to have a beautiful life.

Jasvinder moreover described exactly how was her hard work to promote this problem until she achieves helping so many women –the victim of honor based crime. Jasvinder believes as long as we fight against this issues –honor based crime- we could make a change.

In the other hand, the victim’s mother is not totally wrong, they were just following the paradigms which existed in their family from generation to generation without thinking the consequences that may happen to their daughter, they were not well educated, and all the matter for them is to be known as the person who holds on tradition. I believe that Jasvinder wants us to know that this is our duty to educate and concern about those parents.

Character I Like

I personally choose Jasvinder Sanghera as the best character (protagonist) of the story. Because she works very hard, she never surrenders, she has the perfect personality, and she being kind to every victim she met.

Jasvinder described herself in the novel as the very attractive person that every woman wants to have a talk with her, sharing story. She is the very good listener, a good advisor and very understanding; she is a very supportive woman who could encourage a vulnerable victim such as Maya, Kiren etc. to take back their rights which have been taken by their family.

Her braveness to choose difficult choices inspired us; her sympathy to help each other must be taken as our example. Even though she found countless challenges during her work to fight against honor-based crime, she is now happy that she is no longer working alone.

Character I Don’t Like

The character I dislike is all parents who claim to have an ultimate right to possess their son or daughters life. They are egoist, they don’t even think about their son or daughter’s future, the only thing important for them is concern about their self being judge as the man who ignore tradition, they force their children to marry at early age. Forced marriage which is undeniably unacceptable is the worst thing to do as a parent.

Wickedness cannot be judged in one side only. Like I mentioned above, the parents are not well educated, they torture their daughter, imprisoned, and some are killing to raise high the izzat or honor. Although the entire problems cause by upholding the culture, but it doesn’t mean that they have to abandon that. If they could assimilate the culture with the norm existed in Brittan that would be great.