43 easy to define, observe, and take action against this kind of maltreatment” 12. In
this novel, Firdaus experiences some kinds of physical abuses. Her physical abuses are in the form of beat, cut, and hit.
a. Beaten by her mother
Firdaus is a child with smart and high curiosity. She often observes what happens surround her. She always thinks about how something happened and how
things are accepted by society. Her first physical abuse is done by her mother on one day after the Friday morning prayer. As a child, she asks something about a
thing which makes her mother directly beats her. Sometimes I could not distinguish which one of them was my father. He
resembled them so closely that it was difficult to tell. So one day I asked my mother about him. How was it she had given birth to me without a father?
First she beat me 13.
Beating a child is a harmful action because it will remain bruise if it is done with a strong power. Besides remaining bruise on a child’s body, beating a child
will affect to a child’s psychology because she will remember that moment as a hurtful moment which will give her a traumatic experience. What her mother does
to Firdaus is a wrong action. She does not realize that Firdaus is still a child who does not deserve bad treatment from her. There is no strong reason to beat a child.
If a child does something wrong at home or out side home, it is their duties to teach their child to obey the rule and know what the right behavior is. The case of
Firdaus is not clear enough. She only asks about how she had been birth in this world, but her mother directly beats her with no explanation. From the quotation
above and its analysis, it can be concluded that Firdaus experiences a physical abuse in which she is beaten by her mother for unknown reason.
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44
b. Cut by her mother
In this case, Firdaus should experience a horrible action done to her. After asking a question to her mother about how she had been born in the world, her
mother brings a woman to cut a piece of flesh between her thighs for unknown purposes. Firdaus can not react against her mother brutality of hurting the
sensitive part of her body. So one day I asked my mother about him. How was it she had given birth to
me without a father? First she beat me. Then she brought a woman who was carrying a small knife or maybe a razor blade. They cut off the piece of
flesh from between my thighs. I cried all night. Next morning my mother did not send me to the fields 13.
Experiencing of being cut of a flesh between her thighs for unknown purposes has brought a great impact to Firdaus. If it is as form of punishment for
asking an innocent question, the mother has done a brutal action to give punishment to her because it will seriously injure that part of her body
permanently. But if it is kind of circumcision, she does not deserve to experience that because it is only done for men to prevent from genital illness. In some
countries, it is tradition for female children to have circumcision but seeing the function and purpose of female circumcision many medical studies do not agree
with that. Female circumcision by cutting a part of females genital will damage the genital itself and remain permanent injured.
Based on the novel that her mother had cut a flesh between Firdaus’ thighs, it can be categorized that whether it is a punishment or a circumcision the mother
had done physical abuse which hurting her child’s body. From the quotation
PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
45 above and its analysis, it concludes that Firdaus experiences other physical abuses
besides beating. The effect of this brutal action injures her badly.
c. Hit by her mother
