Princess Sultana's Circle

into
Nashwa’s ear, and both girls laughed loudly. Sara and I stared at
our daughters. My voice grew loud with increasing irritation. “Why
do you laugh?”
    Maha’s face reddened, and
even before she spoke, I could tell that she was weaving a small
lie. “We were talking about a girl at school, Mother. Nothing
more.”
    “ Daughter! Do not break
your fast with a lie! Have you forgotten that it is
Ramadan?”
    “ Nashwa?” Sara’s voice was
gentle.
    Nashwa was a girl
resembling Maha in many ways, but she had greater difficulty lying
to her mother than did my child.
    “ It was only a small joke,
Mother.”
    “ And? Share the joke,
please.”
    Nashwa exchanged an uneasy
look with Maha, then said, “Well, Maha wants us to cast a spell on
Hadi so that his male organ will enter a permanent
sleep.”
    “ Child!” Sara was aghast.
“Put such thoughts out of your mind! Only Allah has such
power!”
    I was angry that Maha could
lie so easily, while Nashwa could not. I looked suspiciously at my
daughter. Was Maha still drawn to the trickery of black
magic?
    Maha began to squirm under
my scrutiny. Four or five years earlier, Maha had been caught
planning to cast an evil spell on her own brother. But I thought
that Kareem and I had frightened her into giving up all thoughts of
black magic. Perhaps not, I now mused. I knew that a number of my
royal relatives had a great belief in the black arts.
    I did not share my thoughts
with Sara, but secretly I agreed that Munira’s life would take a
turn for the better if her husband became impotent. After all, she
could successfully appeal for divorce should such a thing
occur.
    In Saudi Arabia, a man can
divorce his wife at any time without stating a cause, while Saudi
women are not so fortunate. However, if a husband is impotent, or
does not provide for his family, a divorce, however difficult, is
possible for a woman to obtain.
    Later, when Hadi and Munira
arrived, the first thing I saw was the misery on Munira’s face. I
was so shocked at her wretched physical condition, I wanted to
strike Hadi with all my force. In only one short month, Munira had
lost many kilos in weight, and now her skeletal frame was visible
through her flesh.
    Sara and I exchanged a
horrified look. Sara rose to her feet.
    “ Munira, you look unwell,
child. Come and sit.”
    Munira looked to Hadi for
his approval. Already, the spirit of life had been sapped from her
body! Hadi moved his head slightly and made a clicking noise with
his tongue that meant, no. Obediently, Munira remained by her
husband’s side. Hadi then snapped his fingers and signaled at
Munira. “Coffee.”
    Although the palace had
many servants ready to satisfy our every whim, Hadi wanted to show
us that one of our own was enslaved by him!
    Understanding that the
women of her family were aghast at her predicament, Munira’s face
grew red with shame as she stared at the floor.
    “ Munira!” Hadi said,
loudly. An ugly scowl crossed his face.
    Munira stumbled toward the
kitchen, looking for coffee.
    Hadi’s scowl melted into a
gloat. He turned to look at Munira’s family. The satisfaction on
his face was unbearable to see!
    Sara stood and stared,
looking at Nura, then to Hadi, and back. She did not know what to
do in the face of Hadi’s intentional rudeness to his young wife.
Other than poor Reema, all the daughters of Fadeela had respectful
husbands, and even Saleem did not denigrate Reema in full view of
her family.
    Just as Munira returned
from the kitchen carrying Hadi’s coffee, Ali arrived.
    My brother has always had
the power to provoke me. Now, like the snake he is, Ali slithered
his massive body up to Hadi and had the nerve to ask him if his
honeymoon exercises had kept him so occupied that he had failed to
enjoy the sultry beauty of the Moroccan women.
    Munira’s face flushed a
deep crimson red, humiliated by her father’s salacious
comments.
    I began to shake with rage.
Did Ali not remember that his daughter was a shy girl who wanted
nothing in life but to be left alone?
    Suddenly, I could take no
more! My brother was an unfeeling mass of human flesh who did not
deserve to live! I jumped to my feet with violence on my
mind.
    Kareem had been watching,
and when he recognized the reckless mood that had overtaken me, he
rushed to my side. Taking me by the arm, he forcibly led me toward
another corner of the large room. Sara and Nura quickly joined
us.
    Ali looked mystified when
he caught me casting him a murderous