Sold, which is one woman’s true account of modern slavery is a novel which talks about scurvy step of a father. It tells the harsh reality of the world and some sophisticated people on Earth. The authors of this book are Zana Muhsen and Andrew Crofts.
The book was published in 1994 and became an international bestseller and was dramatised by British Broadcasting Corporation radio.
The story revolves around Zana Muhsen and her sister Nadia Muhsen.
Both sisters were living a joyful life with their family and friends.
One day, their father tells them of a six-week holiday trip with relatives in North Yemen.
Zana is the first to go to Yemen with her father’s friend namely Abdul Khada.
When they arrive in Yemen, Zana comes to know about her ‘marriage’ with Muhammad, the son of Abdul Khada and also Nadia is married to Abdullah, son of Gawad.
Both sisters were totally unaware about all of this. It was a secret step by their father. Regretfully, their father took money from those two Yemeni men and sold his daughters. Apparently, it looks like a trip but actually it was not. It was a deal and Zana doesn’t want her sister to be a part of this deal.
She doesn’t want Nadia to come to Yemen. She used to write letters to her mother but unfortunately, her father did not let her letters reach her mother. When Nadia arrives in Yemen, Zana informs Nadia about the situations. At first, they are treated well but with the passage of time, their condition becomes worse. Both sisters are neighbours but they are actually prisoners. They are not allowed to meet each other. They are beaten by their fathers in law.
They endure rape and childbirth at a very young age. They are forced to write letters to their mother that they are having a wonderful vacation. Soon Nadia gives birth to a baby boy Haney. Zana is not allowed to meet her sister even during her childbirth.
She used to meet Nadia just once a week. Nadia’s mother-in-law is a little civil as compared to Zana’s. On the other hand, Zana’s husband is physically unfit. Abdul Khada takes his son to Saudi Arab for treatment. Eventually, Muhammad comes back and Zana becomes pregnant. During her pregnancy, she faces a lot of troubles. She has to fetch water from a well which is really far from her house. Additionally, she has to cook food and do a large amount of home chores. Zana gives birth to a baby boy named Marcus.
Her good fortune is when she befriends a doctor and with his help, starts writing letters to her mother. Fortunately, her mother gets the letters and replies. On the other hand, Nadia gives birth to her second child Tina.
Finally, their mother arrives in Yemen and promises her daughters that she would do anything and everything to rescue them. Abdul Khada and Gawad resist and don’t permit Zana to go back to England. But with the help of many high authorities, finally a chance comes for the girls to escape. Abdul Khada and Gawad are not ready to let their grandsons move to England.
Zana is ready to leave Marcus with her “so called” husband. She is happy that she bore a son because had it been a girl, she would’ve suffered the same as what she herself was suffering. After eight years of unbearable pain, finally Zana succeeds to escape but Nadia remains as she does not want to part with her children. But Zana promises Nadia that she will take her back to England.
This is the story of an ordinary girl with extraordinary courage.
It left a lesson of bravery. Zana faced a lot of unbearable situations but she refused to give up. It took six years for Zana’s mother to find her daughters and another two years to find a way to get Zana back but neither Zana nor her mother ever gave up. Meanwhile, if you will work for justice surely you will achieve it. Zana strongly believed that one day she will be successful in going back to England.
The writer is a student and can be reached at [email protected]