Zero Point Loan

Admin | January 21, 2012 | Comments Off

Zero Point Loan

Zero Point Loan

While Woman at Point Zero is written as a novel, it is based on a real encounter between El Saadawi, who worked as a psychiatrist, and an imprisoned prostitute named Firdaus. Firdaus was shortly to be executed for murdering a pimp, but in the last hours of her life she told El Saadawi the story of her extraordinary life from her prison cell. The novel is a re-telling of Firdaus’ narration.

Woman at Point Zero – plot

We follow Firdaus from her childhood in a poor peasant family where she was subjected to domestic drudgery and female circumcision, through her arranged marriage to a repulsive older man who abuses her. After he beats her, Firdaus flees and wanders through Cairo. She bumps into a café owner who acts kindly towards her and promptly makes her his mistress. However, when Firdaus asks for work and independence, her new lover locks her up and invites his friends to rape her. Following this episode, Firdaus escapes only to be exploited in prostitution by an older woman. She finally gains independence by becoming a prostitute on her own terms.