Do They hear you When You Cry

Rating:
Summary: A definite must-read-girl-power story
Review: The reason why I picked out this book to read was because I was assigned to read a non-fiction story for History class. Although the book was thick and the letterings weren't exactly small, I would say that I've made one of the best choices in picking up that book. I will not tell you the story, but what I will tell you is that if you are a woman and you have believe that people should do what's right, I would definitely recomend this book. It is a story about a girl being forced into practising FGM, which I believe is wrong and that practices such as this should be condemed. The least you could do to support the idea of not practising FGM is by reading this book, because I know it is not much to ask and hat I'm sure you will enjoy it. It has been written very cleverly and though it does go through alot of facts at certain points, it had entertained me and made me cry at areas of the book. I am fifteen and if it was written in such a simple way where it had been able to moved me, I'm sure that it will move you too.

Rating:
Summary: Sad story with a hopeful message
Review: "My father was a modern man in a traditional culture who neither repudiated that culture nor let himself be bound by it. He embraced some parts of it, rejected others, and never stopped reevaluating his beliefs about good and bad, right and wrong. He also never deviated from his Muslim faith. We, his daughters, were the same- part modern, part traditional, and Muslim throughout". ~Fauziya Kassindja, Do They Hear You When You Cry, "Muslim Girl"

This book is the true life story of Fauziya Kassindja, who lived in Togo, West Africa, for the first sixteen years of her life. Her father, an influencial man in her small town society, had always protected her from the dangers that most girls faced as part of her culture. However, when he died, his property (the house where she lived with her mother and sisters) was given to her aunt and uncle, who were very traditional. She was pledged to be married to a man three times her age who already had three wives, whom she was expected to serve. She was also being prepared to undergo what is none in Togo as Female Circumsism and what is known in the U.S. as Female Genital Mutilation (FGM). Fauziya was afraid of having her sacred, female parts destroyed and did not want to live with this man and his wives. A friend told her she could come to America, which helps victims from other country find safety, and he got her a passport. She was young and didn't know what was going on, and when she got to the U.S., she was put in jail. In this maximum-security ward, the illegal immigrants were treated worse than the prisoners convicted of major crimes. She was in this jail for a very long time before a passionate lawyer discovered her story and fought for crimes committed against women )gender-based persecution) to be included in the law that lets foreigners become U.S. citizens because they are fleeing persecuation in their country and seeking safety in ours.

This story was utterly fascinating and inspiring; it kept me interested and rooting for Fauziya's case the whole way through. I found Fauziya to be a strong, perservering woman, and her lawyer was an inspiration to me as well.

This is an educational and enlightening story.

Rating:
Summary: Gripping!
Review: Suggested by a member of my Washington DC book club, this horrific and gripping story is the true tale of a young Togolese woman who, under great fear of the death that might occur when she is forced to undergo female genital mutilation (FGM), flees everything she knows to escape. Fauziya's story begins idyllically in a village in Togo as a member of a large family of girls whose father is not only kind but against the mutilation of his daughters. When the father suddenly dies, she is thrust into the hands of a spiteful and greed aunt who wishes to marry her off to an older man (as his third wife) and insists on the mutilation. Fauziya flees to Germany and is befriended by a kindly Nigerian man who tells her that he can get her a passport, she can go to America, and seek asylum. Fauziya's nightmare begins upon arrival in the US where she is thrown into prison and is eventually housed in four different prisons before a legal team of many, Congresswomen, journalists at the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Boston Globe and others, Oprah, and scores of activists have to fight for over 16 months to have her released. The tale is outrageous and thoroughly embarrassing for any American who believes the 'system' works. In her own words, this true story is as desperate, moving, and gripping as any novel.

Rating:
Summary: A Poignant, Heart-Wrenching Depiction of Courage
Review: Fauzy's fight for justice in the land of "liberty" almost broke my heart. She suffered countless indignities and pain enough to break any normal person's spirit completely. Her God was truly looking after her by sending her the support of loving people who would keep her moving and eventually carry her to freedom.

I recommend this book to everyone because it is so clearly written and it moves you to tears with the forthright style the author used to tell her tale. You become a part of the story... almost as if you were there at every step, feeling every pain, every humiliation that she did and it touches a place deep in your heart and stirs you into action about the brutality and sheer pointlessness of FGM.

Rating:
Summary: Fauziya and the Baha'i Faith
Review: I am thrilled to learn that so many have enjoyed "Do TheyHear You When You Cry." It is my hope that through understandingFauziya's story, we will be able to take a deep look into of ourselves and reevaluate the way the U.S. immigration system treats those coming to our shores seeking protection. Also, I hope that her story is able to raise awareness about the plight of women suffering abuses at the hands of individuals who refuse to reject ingrained practices of past which subjegate women. Although the practice the book deals with - female genital mutilation - occurs, in this case, in Africa, I think that it is important to note that every society, in every part of the world, at some point in history, has had cultural practices that harmed women - including the United States. We all must struggle to reject the oppression of women - in any form.

I want to respond to one reviewer of the book about Fauziya's relationship to the Baha'i Faith and Islam. As is apparent throughout the book, Fauizya is a steadfast Muslim. Her faith has always been and continues to be very strong. My belief in the Baha'i Faith is equally strong. Neither Fauziya nor I have changed our faiths, rather we have both adhered to the tenants of the Baha'i Faith and Islam and, accordingly, given eachother's spiritual convictions and religious identities great respect. We have mutual admiration for eachother's faiths and adherance to them. In fact, our similar views on the importance of a spiritual existence and faith in God, often kept us going in the face us extreme hardship and enabled us to understand one another, although we came from very different cultures. Fauziya has not given up her faith and continues to be strong in it. END

Rating:
Summary: Sensitively written about a painful subject
Review: I just finished reading this book and absolutly loved it. It is a must read for anyone who feels the calling to fight injustice in the world as well as at home. However I disagree with some of the reviewers who said she could have been more graphic about the FGM procedures. If you want to know more about it research. But I feel that for Fauziya relating it in more detail would be too painful and unnecessary. She has already been through so much and to have to relate something so private and personal once again would be insensitive to her. She is a courageous woman to go through all of this and to still be able to recount it. She is only two years older than myself and I admire her greatly.

Rating:
Summary: SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT IT
Review: IS A SAME FOR ALL THE AMERICAN CITIZEN THEN THINK THEY HAVE A DEMOCRATIC AND A FREE HUMAN COUNTRY AND THEY SHOULD SEE THROW THIS HAPPENINGS WHAT RULES YOU PEOPLE HAVE. REALLY PITYFULL.

Rating:
Summary: I couldn't help crying while reading Fauziya's story.
Review: This story is very touching! I often had to cry while reading Fauziya's story. One can really feel the nightmare that she went through. However it reveals much more about the conditions the asylum applicants have to face, than on FGM.

Rating:
Summary: It was definitely one of the best books I've read!
Review: I picked this book out by chance, thinking that I probably would not even finish reading it. Once I started reading, though, I could not put it down. I was captivated by Fauziya's life in Africa and her troubled journey to escape FGM. My heart goes out to Fauziya and may God bless her.

Rating:
Summary: A too-long account of a determined young woman
Review: I picked this book up after reading about it in my local newspaper. I am a little more than 3 quarters through, and finishing it only to do just that--finish it. I believe Fauzy is nothing less than a hero for leaving her family and her country to escape a pre-arranged marriage and the FGM that was to follow her wedding. That the practice of FGM is so prevalent in many parts of the world but especially in Africa is horrific. It is beyond belief that any civilized culture would still practice such torture, and I am disappointed that Fauzy chose to focus more on the unfairness of the American immigration process rather than making HER country's practice of FGM the focus of her story. What happened to her here was horrible, but the FGM procedure that would have happened to her if she had stayed in Togo is the real crime. She has more reason to direct her anger toward HER country and its acceptance of the practice of FGM than to have been so critical of the U.S., which, despite its problematic immigration system, is the place she now calls home.