Princess Sultana's Daughters

was a Saudi man who adored his one and
only wife and who was the proud father of three sons and one
daughter. In one of the stranger quirks of nature, Fouad, a
plain-faced man, and Samia, a woman who was pitied for her
appearance, produced the most dazzling offspring. Their three sons
were strikingly handsome, while their only daughter was a ravishing
beauty.
    Fayza was the only girl I have ever seen who
rivaled Sara’s youthful splendor. Stories about her fair
complexion, wistful dark eyes, and long coal-black hair stirred the
blood of Saudi Arabian men, who could only imagine the girl’s
physical attractiveness from hearsay.
    Fayza had other irresistible qualities. She
inherited something of her mother and was a girl of rare, dry wit
who often enlivened our female gatherings.
    I was sorry that Fayza was older than my son,
for I thought Abdullah would have loved her intensely, had he been
given the opportunity.
    Beautiful, witty, and smart, Fayza was a
university student at a women’s school in Riyadh. She was in the
first courses of predentistry and had aspirations to open a
children’s dental facility.
    Fouad confided that while he wanted his
daughter to attain a degree, in reality she would have little need
for working skills. He proudly confided to Kareem that at the
completion of his daughter’s education, Fayza would be married into
a wealthy family. Meetings had already been conducted, and Fouad
had his pick of three influential families. When his daughter
graduated, he would allow her to have supervised meetings with each
of the three young men in question, allowing his child to have a
say in her future.
    When Kareem told me Fouad’s plans for Fayza,
I felt great joy, thinking how far we had traveled since the days
of my youth! None of my sisters had a voice in the choice of their
husbands. And, Sara! Who among us could forget the nightmare Sara
had endured in her first marriage to an evil man. She was only
sixteen when our father forced her to marry a man forty-eight years
her senior. The man was very wealthy and had business connections
with our family. Sara became hysterical when she heard the news,
pleading with our father to have mercy and cancel the wedding.
Sadly, not even our mother could reverse his decision. As it turned
out, Sara was allowed a divorce after she tried to take her own
life. My sister was an innocent girl who knew nothing of men and
their sexual appetites, but her husband subjected her to the
cruelest of sexual bondage and abuse. It was a tragic union that
scarred my sister and almost claimed her life. In my family, I was
the only daughter privileged to meet my husband before he became my
intimate partner in life. And that decision had resulted from
nothing more than the actions of a spirited girl, combined with the
determination of a curious suitor.
    When I first learned that I would be wed to a
royal cousin, I telephoned the sister of that cousin, pretending I
had been seriously scarred from a chemical accident. Little in my
land is more valued than female beauty. The rumor I purposely
started (in order to have my engagement called off) led to a
personal meeting with a group of female relatives of that cousin.
These women inspected me as if I were a camel in a market, and I
reacted in an outrageous manner, snapping and biting until they
fled my home. When Kareem heard of my behavior, he insisted upon
meeting me. Happily, Kareem and I were attracted to each other, or
who knows what else might have occurred.
    Now a man raised in the strictest of times
was casually speaking of allowing his child the opportunity to take
part in the selection of her husband.
    How happy I was at the news!
    Yet I did not let myself rejoice too long,
for I knew that most women in my land still were used as nothing
more than political or economic prizes. Nevertheless, I assured
myself, each individual battle won would eventually lead to
widespread and enormous victory!
    *
    And now! Fouad’s dreams for his daughter’s
future had come to nothing. His only daughter, a beautiful woman
sought by the wealthiest men in my land, had eloped with a
penniless Palestinian refugee!
    “How did this happen?” I asked my
husband.
    With their lawyer’s minds and information
gathered by Samia, Kareem and Fouad had pieced together the drama
of the two lovers.
    Weeks after Jafer began his work at the firm,
Fouad’s family came into the office to sign some papers. Fouad had
acquired some rather large business