Brutal mirror to patriarchy

Living up to its title, The Dark Hours Of The Night, this book is very dark indeed, with very little light to alleviate it. A scathing expose, by writer Salma, of a patriarchal, Muslim community in a small town in Tamil Nadu, the book takes an unflinching look at how the female species, victims of unbearable oppression, are made to kowtow to male whims and fancies.

- Alpana Chowdhury

Salma, whose real name is Rajathi, must have witnessed a skewed gender relationship from close quarters, as she has sketched in microscopic detail the lives of women, in an orthodox, hypocritical community, from childhood to old age. Her being an MP in the Rajya Sabha perhaps gave her added agency to lay bare the double standards and cruelty of a male-dominated society where even the home is not safe for the girl child.

Seen largely through the eyes of a preteen, bubbly girl, Rabia, the community's rituals, festivals, weddings, coming-of-age events, appear on the surface as celebratory occasions. But, that moppets can be pawed by lecherous old relatives under cover of these occasions, is a harsh truth that writer Salma minces no words to reveal.