Every forbidden fruit is desired…. until forbidden fruits are within reach.
An epic tale that takes us across cultures, yet this is not the tale of one girl or woman, but that of many and for fear of sounding clichéd, perhaps all women in some areas of the world. Their voice is not heard because if one speaks out numerous may silence their own kind, or she becomes the black sheep, the odd one out.
Every forbidden fruit is desired. And when we realize that ominous list of ‘don’t do this’, we are left with the only option, looking. And, like a starved or fasting man, he draws images in his mind of what he wants to eat or craves at that particular moment. At this point, window peeping becomes not just a way of life but the only way to live – the fact that you peep out at life but are never allowed to live it. Fearing, and that might sound strange to many people who live in countries where freedom begins with the ability to walk. Others will take a deep breath and join hands with me, along with others who are beginning to speak out.
In some countries, people – and here I am pointing to women in particular – may have to fight just to open a window for some much-needed fresh air. If you think that is a joke, please, you are welcome to visit any country where women are suffering severe oppression and talk to any woman you meet, and you will see for yourself.
Some had the advantage of enlightened parents who encouraged completion of education, and with that comes some freedom – but not much. The chains of society and an old culture demand basics of women and girls that if they are not met – the girl is shunned or shamed and maybe for life.
Others who have left the country know exactly what is meant by these words.
The Window Peep is not the story of one woman, but through Hana, the extent that women go to just to have a little bit of life will be seen.
That little goes a long way for those who have none – like the dehydrated man in a desert, just a spoonful of water keeps him alive. When he does get it – he has no more to ask for. But when he finds a lot of water, he may drink till he dies.
Freedom is usually forgotten in the humdrum routine of daily life until it is mixed up with abuse into a thick dough that makes it not a search for freedom but the fight to just stay alive. She fights alone because no one dares support her, even others like her – all the energy they have is for each one to confront her own war – Hana, The Window Peep.