The Pearl That Broke Its Shell Quotes
"We did the best we could without running."
"Besides pickup games of street soccer, this was the main sport for school-age boys—watching girls."
"Your mother is very much aware of exactly when you girls have gotten home."
"We whispered about what Padar-jan would say when he came home while we dug our pencils into our notebooks."
"She became what her family needed. She became what the king needed."
"Your name means 'gift,' my daughter. You are a gift from Allah."
"The silence grated on her nerves and she would try to break it with the sounds of chores."
"In the end, Padar-jan decided to pull us out of school again."
"Shekiba proved to be able-bodied, affirming her father’s confidence in her ability to manage the farm."
"That was the beginning of a new phase in Shekiba’s life."
"What can a girl do in this world, anyway? Rahim will appreciate what you’ve done for him."
"We drank in spirits and played in fields."
"Enough," Freidun answered. "They’re ready."
"How she wished she would have died on the cold floor of her own home, before her uncles had found her."
"Do not do anything that will bring shame to this family."
"May demons haunt your dreams, may your bones shatter as you walk and may your last breaths be painful and bloody!"
"I will find a way back to our land and bury myself with my family, Shekiba resolved."
"We’re all young women. Me, Parwin. Even you, Rahim. Even you."
"It’s not just a question. If it were just a question, I’d like to see you go and ask it in front of Padar-jan."
"What do you think it would be like if Kaka Jamaal was our father?"
"You’re so busy being a boy that you’ve forgotten what can happen to a girl."
"The men are short on weapons, on supplies. There isn’t money to spare."
"I’m not the one starting this talk. There are lots of tongues flapping about him. That’s all I’m trying to tell you."
"You honor me with your visit, sahib, and I have been proud to fight under your leadership."
"I could feel my heart pounding. Madar-jan stood behind me, one hand on my shoulder and the other covering her mouth."
"And you came to me recently talking of your concerns. That you have young women at home and not enough money with which to provide for them."
"Arif, what are you going to do? The girls are so young!"
"We are not here for your eldest daughter, Arif-jan. I’m speaking of your middle daughter. The bacha posh."
"Please don’t cry, my girls. These things are a part of life—girls are married and then become part of another family."
"You are right. It would be improper to give your middle daughter’s hand without the other two being wed as well."
"She’s… she’s gone to live with a new family."
"My second daughter—you probably do not know this, but she was born with a lame leg. She limps…"
"I have to get to the hakim. That’s my only chance."
"You have made that clear, Hafizullah-sahib. And I hope that you will accept my brother’s gift to the amir-sahib."
"Well, let’s take a look at you." She lifted Shekiba’s burqa and took a step back. "Well, well. That’s quite a face."
"I will be here, Raisa. Don’t think I won’t."
"You are to behave like a proper bride and learn to keep house."
"I am your husband and this is your home. When I ask for something, you make it happen."
"This girl cannot cook! Did you try this food? It’s terrible!"
"I’ve brought home a chicken, Raisa! Make sure you send some to my mother, and not just the bones, mind you!"
"Listen to me carefully. You are to behave like a proper bride and learn to keep house. That tantrum you threw in your father’s home will not be tolerated here."
"My son, Jahangir, was ten months old at the time, a miracle in his own right."
"I looked at my son and thanked God for making him a boy."
"She prayed every day that something would happen and I’ll be able to go back home."
"Everyone has a purpose here in the palace. This is ours."
"I wanted to be alone but there was little possibility of that at the compound."
"I watched him wistfully, vowing to be better to him than my mother was being to my sisters."
"It’s comfortable, but this can’t be it. I’m not like Ghafoor. Or even Karim. I don’t want to wear pants for the rest of my life. I was happy as a girl."
"It’s easier to fool someone who can’t figure things out on his own."
"The human spirit, you know what they say about the human spirit? It is harder than a rock and more delicate than a flower petal."
"Don’t forget that you are part flower petal and part rock too."
"Maybe your naseeb is there but waiting for you to make it happen."
"Afghanistan needed to represent all of its many colors, Zamarud insisted, or it would fall apart. Again."
"It’s imperative that we think of the future of this country. We Afghans have become complacent, letting almost anyone take on these positions of power and influence. Let’s think about it carefully and then decide."
"I’m not thinking? I’m thinking about it a great deal! It’s you and the rest of you that need to start thinking. I’m going to speak my mind right now."
"From what I have seen, the nominations that have been presented thus far have been of men who worked alongside the most sinister characters in our country’s recent history. The money in their pockets comes from drugs, from alliances with warlords and mercenaries. They have the blood of their fellow Afghans on their hands."
"We must watch who we place in these official positions. They should be there for the right reasons, for the development and protection of our beloved Afghanistan. We have suffered enough in the hands of others in the last decades. Our people deserve to have right-minded individuals in power."
"Every person in this room, every man and every woman, who would dare to approve these nominations will share the responsibility for keeping those lips greasy with the money that should go to the Afghan people, to the Afghan country."
"If you can’t shut your mouth, leave then! Just get out! I don’t need you."
"I decide, all right? I know what the issues are and then I choose."
"That’s a great idea! That’s what we’ll do. While Badriya visits her aunt, we’ll go to the resource center. We can go meet directly after the session closes today and then head over to their office. You’ll be ready to go then, right?"
"Allahu akbar. Allahu akbar. Allahu . . ."
"I am not welcome here. I am his wife, but only half. Nothing about me is whole. Why did he do this?"
"You can't expect to just laze around all day long."
"This is my home. I do things the way I like and you better not expect to change things."
"Remember that life has typhoons. They come and turn everything upside down. But you still have to stand up because the next storm may be around the corner."
"Ya marg ya istiqlal!" (Death or freedom!)
"What child doesn’t call out for his mother? What could be more comforting than a mother’s embrace?"
"A daughter doesn’t really belong to her parents. A daughter belongs to others."
"Do you want to be a boy? Maybe that’s what you want!"
"It’s best you think of your son, pray for him to be in peace."
"Anything was possible, and that death was closer than I wanted to believe."
"I’ve cheated the angel Azrael more than once but he’ll come and claim my last breath soon enough."
"Remember where you come from. Her blood courses through your veins and gives strength to your spirit. Always walk with your head high."
"Allah has said, ‘Start moving, so I may start blessing.’"
"I may have lived my entire life in a small village but I was connected to Afghanistan’s aristocracy."
"My husband was a man of violence and I knew that I’d barely seen a tenth of what he was capable of."
"I couldn’t help but remember he was looking to add a wife and that five was one more than he wanted."
"This life is difficult. We lose fathers, brothers, mothers, songbirds and pieces of ourselves."
"It was my few years of school that allowed me to read the beauty shop flyer in the store window."
"I’m sorry, Khala-jan. I’m sorry I never thanked you for fighting for me, for everything you taught me, for the stories you told me, for the escape you gave me."