Beneath My Mother's Feet - Amjed Qamar
Great mom-daughter read about a Pakistani teen.
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- Author:Amjed Qamar
- # of pages: 202
- Publisher:Atheneum
- Original Publication Date: 06/17/2008
- Genre: Fiction - Coming of Age
- Hardcover: $16.99
- Publisher's Recommended Reading Level: 12
Parents need to know
Families can talk about how cultural expectations for women in Pakistan and elsewhere are very different than in the United States and Canada. One character says, "A woman without a husband is a woman less than worthless." How does that attitude affect Nazia's mother and her hopes for Nazia? What else have you learned about women in other cultures?
Message
Social Behavior:
Other than a 10-year-old boy, there are no males with redeeming qualities in the book. Nazia's father and brother steal, lie, and desert their family. Nazia lives in a society where girls are expected to do what they are told; her marriage at age 14 to her much-older cousin was arranged when she was a young child. Nazia's mother pulls her out of school to work as a maid; later, they lose their home and must beg for shelter from their employer. As a servant, Nazia is mistreated and looked down upon by her wealthy employers and by her former social peers. One employer says, "You people spread lice faster than flies on meat." The same employer ignores Nazia's pleas when another child servant is ill. A mother sells her child into servitude, only visiting to take his earnings.
Consumerism:
Drugs/Alcohol/Tobacco:
Violence
Nazia's father hits Nazia and her mother once. Their employer slaps Nazia in the face and cuffs another young servant on the head.
Sex
There is a brief reference to mothers wanting to marry their daughters early to protect their innocence.
Language
Common Sense says
What's the story?
Reviewed by Carrie Wheadon
Is it any good?
The author, who lived in Pakistan for several years, offers a truthful -- if bleak -- picture of poverty and oppression, with Nazia's mother willing to beg for a place for her children to stay after they lose their home. Younger readers might need additional explanations for several cultural references, such as the dowry. With its strong family relationships, interesting cultural details, and girl-empowerment theme, this would make a great pick for a mother-daughter book club. The tantalizing dishes mentioned (from naan to curry to spiced rice) and a bounty of discussion topics (friendship, duty, women's rights) leave plenty to chew on, both literally and figuratively.
Other choices
Other Books with Arranged Marriages:
Homeless Bird by Gloria Whelan
Shabanu: Daughter of the Wind by Suzanne Fisher Staples
More Mothers and Daughters:
Outside Beauty by Cynthia Kadohata
Parents and kids say



