World Literature

“I came to realize that a female employee is more afraid of losing her job than a prostitute is of losing her life. An employee is scared of losing her job and becoming a prostitute because she does not understand that the prostitute’s life is in fact better than hers.” (82)

In Nawal El Saawdawi’s Woman at Point Zero, the protagonist, Firdaus, is an abused woman who turns to prostitution as her last resort for finding some form of freedom in the repressive society she lives in. The above quote is from the point of Firdaus’ life when she tries to become a “respectable woman” and finds work in an office. In order to become “respectable”, she sacrifices her life of luxury for much more sufferable living conditions. The few years that she spends as an office worker, Firdaus learns of how mistreated “respectable” women are and witnesses male employees continuously dominate and hold significant power over the female employees.

She tells the narrator of how prostitutes have it better than these “respectable” women and the irony of the situation is apparent. In nearly every civilization throughout history, prostitutes are seen as the lowest members of that society. The thought of prostitution is revolting and people look at these sex workers as if they’re scum. For Firdaus to state that prostitutes live better than any office worker is a great criticism of gender inequality in Egypt. This quote is powerful in depicting this because it helps show that the only way a woman can have a sense of identity and autonomy is through this lowly profession as no other place in society will allow her to flourish.