because of the father’s rule on her life, she could not have gone to school and get education. She then argued that she passed her wish to all her children.
“Now I have educated children myself, boys and girls.” “My children, they wanted to teach me when they were going to school. Too
late. When you’re a girl, that’s the time to learn. My father, blessed be his memory, didn’t want me to learn. And that’s the way it was.” Gorkin,
1996:11
From the statements above, it can be concluded that although she is uneducated woman, she wanted her daughter to get education and live better. Her
last daughter’s name is Marianne. In educating her, Umm Mahmud did not apply the patriarchal rules.
“Seriously, I wouldn’t mind if Marianne meets someone – a person from here America
– who wants to live there. Up until now, she has had many suitors. Some were uneducated and untrained. She didn’t want any of them.
She wants an educated man, someone like herself. Alright, let it be an educated man, that’s fine with me. But, at twenty-seven years old, it’s
already time to choose someone. I want her to choose. I can’t force her. Haram You must not force a daughter to marry som
eone.” Gorkin, 1996:30
That statement showed that patriarchy rules has made up her ways of thinking andor her perspectives towards it. Referring to her past life, she had
willingness to get a better life, which then experienced by her daughters. She purely did not want that her daughters experienced the same situation like hers in the past
life.
2. Umm Abdullah’s experiences in the patriarchal society
A fifty-four years old woman, Umm Abdullah is still an attractive woman, with high cheekbones and light brown eyes and an electric, if infrequent, smile.
Like so many Palestinian woman of her age or older, she has a deep feeling of anger PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
- and pride - in having lived through, and endured, a hard history. That findings has shown to us, as a reader, that in th
at time, the Palestinian women’s life was full of tragedy because of Israel-Palestinian conflict and the war period of it, has brought
a hard life as women. Furthermore, her past life, shown us that patriarchy also occurred in her life. In Umm Abdullah’s case, what she had experienced was not
different with Umm Mahmud’s. When she was young, she did not have any opportunity to go to school because there is no formal school, but only a Koran-
study school called Kuttab. It was about a schoolroom for boys, where the boys would go and sit on straw mats on the floor and learn the Koran.
At that time, she only worked. A job she liked was taking care of the lambs and also, she helped her mother in housework or in the field.
“When I wasn’t playing, I was working. A job I liked was taking care of lambs. My father entrusted me with that.”
“Let see, besides the work with the lambs, I’d also help my mother. Housework or in the fields-whatever she wanted. I was a good child, an
obe
dient child.” Gorkin, 1996:45
Those findings clearly shown that there was nothing to do for a girl except, helping her parents. She did not have a chance to get an education in formal school.
In her young age, the girls in that time are forced to get married. Umm Abdullah told that her sister were forced by her father to get married soon. In fact, her age
was still thirteen years old. Her mother also experienced the same.
“Poor thing My father married her off at thirteen years old. In that time, they
used to marry the girls off at twelve, thirteen or fourteen.” “My mother, too, had the same thing happen to her. She was married at
eleven.” Gorkin, 1996:46 PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
