Wiles of Men and other stories by Salwa Bakr.

Essay by ZulaikhaA-, June 2004

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The word empowerment means to give somebody a sense of confidence or self-esteem. The word repression means the process of suppressing somebody or the condition of having political, social, or cultural freedom controlled by force. "That Beautiful Undiscovered Voice", tells a story of a woman, Sayyida, who on her own, discovers that she has this beautiful voice and uses that voice to empower herself and get away from repression. After being married and having four kids, she is withheld from the freedoms of life. She is restricted to house cleaning, cooking, shopping for food, taking care of her husband, Abdul Hamid.

Most women are forced to marry young and drop out of school, and it becomes difficult to free them from poverty and enable them to become equal participants in society. Women are restricted to domestic work and childbearing, and education and jobs aren't accessible to them. But when Sayyida discovers this voice, this freedom, she is thought to be crazy and rejected by society.

Just like a lot of women are when they decide to talk about their issues. Such as when women wanted the right to vote, the right to have an equal wage as men, and the right to have the same opportunities as men in the work force. People thought that it was a crazy idea, and was automatically rejected by society. Thousands of determined women distributed countless petitions, and gave speeches in churches, convention halls, meeting houses and on street corners for suffrage. They published newspapers, pamphlets, and magazines. They were harassed and attacked by mobs and police. Some women were thrown in jail, and when they protested with hunger strikes they were brutally force-fed (Gates). Still they persisted, like Sayyida thought she was rejected twice for her the discovery of her beautiful voice.