The Problem With Being a Young Asian Woman by Sophie Jones
“I need to see your friend’s identification,” the concierge repeats to the older man
towering beside me. The man’s pale skin contrasts my smooth, honey brown. To the outside eye,
we make an intriguing pair: the old white guy in a suit with the little Asian girl and her overladen
backpack standing in the middle of a hotel in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab
Emirates. To the hotel concierge, we are a crime—the very image of prostitution.
Except, the white guy beside me is my father, and in my backpack are school books and
pencils.
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Disappearing Daughters: The Issue of Son Preference in Pakistan by Zainab Khan
What could possibly drive a mother to throw her own daughter off a roof?
My mom’s cousin had three daughters before her son was born. The first was doomed from the start: female and too dark. The second child was born within a year of the first—another daughter, this one more resented than the first and still too dark. The third child offered a sort of reprieve from the disappointment; at least this one had lighter skin. Despite her three healthy children, she still longed for a son and this desperation pushed her to do the unthinkable. Nobody but her knows what really happened the day her firstborn “fell” off the roof, surviving but having to live with permanent brain damage. She says that the devil possessed her, forcing her to push the child, but my mom tells me otherwise. She’d always resented her daughters and as callous as it may sound, the opportunity to get rid of one was too good to pass up.
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The Widespread ‘Normal’ by Maureen Bowen
Casually, I glance into a clothing store window, seeing what the store has to offer. I am confronted by an ad showing a man modeling a smart casual outfit, his body framed by the widespread ‘v’ of a woman’s naked legs, his hands grasping her ankles, holding them open. I glance back down, carry on walking, disturbed and uncomfortable.
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