Rebecca T. (rebecca2you) reviewed Burned Alive : A Victim of the Law of Men on + 111 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 2
This was an eye opening and horrifying book. It went into detail without being too graphic. A touching story of a young girl's survival of being set on fire and birthing a son shortly afterwards; she did this all by herself because everyone was just waiting for her to die and didn't care for her well being at all. And then Jacqueline showed up....... Thank God for women like her!
Amanda K. (amandakennedy) reviewed Burned Alive : A Victim of the Law of Men on + 7 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 2
When Souad was seventeen she fell in love. In her West Bank village, as in so many others, sex before marriage is considered a grave dishonor to one's family and is punishable by death. This was her crime. Her brother-in-law was given the task of meting out her punishment. One morning while Souad was washing the family's clothes, he poured gasoline over her and set her on fire. Miraculously, she survived, rescued by women of her village, who put out the flames and took her to a local hospital. Horribly burned over seventy percent of her body and still denounced by her family, Souad was able to receive the care she needed only after the intervention of a European aid worker. Now in permanent exile from her homeland, she has decided to tell her story and reveal the barbarity of a practice that continues to this day. Burned Alive ...is the first true account ever published by a victim of an "honor crime." Souad's inspiring testimony is a shocking, moving, and harrowing story of cruelty and incomparable courage...and an inspiring call to action to end a heinous tradition.
Helpful Score: 1
A chilling account of a woman's life living in a poor muslim village on the West Bank. Souad explains in graphic detail her life as a child and young woman in a backwards culture where the men treat their farm animals far better than their women.
Horrifying, fascinating, and a must-read for anyone who wants to understand what life is really like in any culture that practices "honor killing."
Definition:
Honor killing: The murder, by a family member, of a girl or a young woman suspected of not respecting familly's honor code.
Any behavior questioning a girl's virginity, being seen talking with men outside the family, wearing dress judged indecent, getting home late at night, talking over the phone with a male friend may arouse familly's suspicions and result in an honor killing.
Horrifying, fascinating, and a must-read for anyone who wants to understand what life is really like in any culture that practices "honor killing."
Definition:
Honor killing: The murder, by a family member, of a girl or a young woman suspected of not respecting familly's honor code.
Any behavior questioning a girl's virginity, being seen talking with men outside the family, wearing dress judged indecent, getting home late at night, talking over the phone with a male friend may arouse familly's suspicions and result in an honor killing.
This true story was horrifying, but I couldn't put it down.
This is a really great book and I enjoyed it. I somehow don't know for sure if it's actually true though. It seems to pull at too many heartstrings if you know what I mean.
