A test of a Woman spirit- Not without my daughter (book review)

[Himani]

A breathtaking tale which not only plays the role of social awakening but also stirs the human inside us. It is an autobiographical book by Betty Mahmoody. It’s about Betty’s escape from a country where she finds herself trapped, it is not only hostile to her cause but alien to her culture.
Betty found herself fallen in love with an Iranian doctor (Moody) and subsequently marries him. They have a girl child called Mahtob. They are leading a very happy a jovial life until one day on the behest of her husband betty aggress to visit Iran for a two week family vacation.

Unaware of what awaits for her and her beloved daughter she land at the land of “mandatory Hijab” and “Uncivilized living” which is completely alien to her culture. Gradually she realizes that women in Iran have no rights of their own and are dominated or what is called there as “Guarded” by the opposite sex. Mahtob and Betty compel themselves to enjoy the trip. Those two weeks seems like never ending. But when it does they are slapped by the news from Moody that he has been removed from his job at Michigan for racial reasons. He declares his intention of staying in Iran along with Betty and Mahtob. Betty nightmares turn into a horrific reality. All her efforts to convince moody to go back to America goes in vain.
She is left with no option but to stay in a land which she so despise. Betty must now suffer in a filthy cockroach-infested home, in a land that despises her and doesn't speak her language. Her husband becomes argumentative and abusive, and keeps her as a prisoner in her own home for fear that she will try to escape. Betty is forced to adapt herself in the tradition of the society that Moody has chosen for them.

Betty runs to the U.S. Embassy for help and finds that although she has the legal right to leave the country, she cannot take her daughter because, in Iran, the father has legal custody. It takes her two long years to step out. In the following two years she makes one failed attempt. As a result Moody takes Mahtob away from her and treats like a captive. The fear of losing Mahtob makes life all the more difficult for her.
All through she kept placing her trust on anyone who was ready to help her. Thus finally one day she finds her way out. Betty could have easily fled Iran but alone. This was exactly what she didn’t want. She was determined to leave Iran but not without her daughter.
A heart wrenching saga of a courageous woman, her escape and her total devotion to her child. By just reading the book I could understand the emotional trauma that Betty must have gone through. It surely makes you believe in the proverb “Where there is a will there is a way”
It is a moving testament what the human spirit is willing to endure, transcending all pains, to be free.

[Vamsi Karavadi]

yeah i read this book..very interesting..try reading a book " girls of riyadh" ..good insight into the life of the women in the saudi ...