Burned Alive: A Victim of the Law of Men [Hardcover]

Souad (Author), Judith Armbruster (Translator)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 11, 2004

The first true account ever published by a victim of an "honor crime," this shocking, moving, and harrowing tale has already become an international sensation.

Souad was a 17-year-old girl living in a small village in Jordan when she had the misfortune of falling in love--an emotion that would lead to an unspeakable act of violence and a lifetime of exile from her homeland. With a childhood marked by hard labor and physical abuse at the hands of her father, who is humiliated by the birth of many daughters and only one son, Souad is desperate to leave home. Enticed into a relationship with a handsome neighbor, her short-lived romance leaves her pregnant. Forbidden to marry until her older sisters find husbands and having brought shame to her family, Souad faces the only acceptable punishment: death. How her family plots to kill her, her harrowing struggle to survive burns over 90% of her body after her brother-in-law douses her with gasoline and sets her on fire, her dramatic escape from Jordan, and her resolve to build a new life for herself is a tale of heartbreaking drama and remarkable courage.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

When she was 18, her brother-in-law poured gasoline on her and set her aflame. She was meant to die because she was pregnant and unmarried, bringing disgrace to her parents. But she survived, and now, 25 years later, "Souad" bears witness to the horror of "honor crimes" that kill thousands of women every year in many countries across the world. She begins with a bitter account of what it was like to grow up female in a remote Palestinian village in the Occupied Territory. "Being born a girl was a curse." Unlike her brother, she never went to school. Her father beat her daily. She worked as a shepherd, a "consenting slave." She barely glimpsed the city, where women were free to work and move around. Her rescuer was Jacqueline, a European aid worker, who was in the Middle East to care for children in distress and who arranged for the badly burned young woman to be flown to Switzerland, where she and her newborn baby received medical care and support. Today Souad is "somewhere in Europe," married with three children, her testimony still anonymous for her protection. Occasional chapters by Jacqueline fill in the wider context, but it's the immediacy of the shocking first-person narrative that drives home the statistics. Like Mende Nazer's Slave [BKL D 1 03], this book is a call to action. Hazel Rochman
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

About the Author

Souad lives with her husband, and must still keep her identity and location secret from her family --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 240 pages
• Publisher: Grand Central Publishing (May 11, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0446533467
• ISBN-13: 978-0446533461
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (66 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #589,807 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

98 of 104 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars horrible but true, July 15, 2005

By 

Kendra - See all my reviews

This review is from: Burned Alive: A Victim of the Law of Men (Hardcover)

THis is a true story despite the fact that some of these reviewers don't want to admit it. Even the reviewer from Egypt knows this happened.

Unfortunately, it seems as if people just do not want to face the truth about a culture that minimizes or degrades the role of women in society. Souad's story is NOT the exception to the rule. Honor killings happen more often than we know. The problem I think the reviewers are having is that Souad lived and is drawing attention to a problem that exists, usually silencing the victims. Here's a case where the victim wasn't silenced afterall.

From day ONE, boys are welcomed and girls are not. Furthermore, men can have up to four wives. They do not consult their first wife and ask her if they will accept wife number 2,3, or 4! One can argue that it's a cultural preference and he or she would be correct that it's a cultural preference for the men. From what I've read, it's usually not the preference for the women involved although, admittedly, many do not question their fate. Practicing monogomy increases the woman's value in our society. Although Souad's father did NOT have other wives, the value system those in these countries have specifically devalue women. The Taliban in Afghanistan was borne from orthodoxy in Islam. Wahhabism in Saudi Arabia is also extreme.

The author's retelling of her story was moving. She freely admits that some memories are unclear. She's tormented about the fact that she cannot remember her sister's name. She recounts her life, however, with extreme honesty. She's emotional, yet removed. I am happy that this woman is living happily presently and has reunited with her son, noting that she still has to deal with her literal and figurative scars of her former life.

This might not be a usual story, but it is indeed representative of this repressive and misogynistic culture.

37 of 41 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Souad is a shero for surviving a modern-day Holocaust, September 7, 2007

By 

JGC - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Burned Alive: A Survivor of an "Honor Killing" Speaks Out (Paperback)

"Burned Alive" is an insightful account of a heinous and violent crime, that is unfortunately rather common.

Souad describes thoughtfully how she was treated worse than an animal while she lived as a slave; owned by her father in a primitive West Bank Village. On a daily basis Souad was the victim of beatings and horrible abuse. Why is that?

Because like virtually all third-world/Islamic States, women are property; not human-beings. Souad is nothing if not honest and brave as she describes in detail how it is a sin simply to be born female. She even describes how her mother murdered her own newborn baby daughters because of their gender!

Souad was forbidden to ever speak to a man and could only go outside to work her long daily chores. When she was still a teenager one of her neighbors raped her repeatedly. She was young and vulnerable and this pig told her that he "loved" her and would "marry" her. But after Souad became pregnant this rapist abandoned her!

Poor Souad goes into detail about how she tried to hide her pregnancy because she knew that it would surely mean her execution. When her family was finally aware of her pregnancy (more than 6 months later), they had her brother-in-law douse her with gasoline and set her on fire. Soaud bravely describes how this felt and how she was treated.

This story is very sad, shocking, tragic but also hopeful. There are millions and millions of women who have been victims of these horrible honor murders. Souad is unique because she is a survivor. She survived her attempted murder. Her family left her for dead, but she survived. And she was able to start a new life!

My hope is that this book will be passed around in the Islamic third-world villages where women are treated worse than garbage. Proper education is the solution. No one deserves to be treated the way Soaud was; there is no justification for this.

Souad is a very courageous woman, not just for surviving, but for also telling her story. She still feels guilty, but if I could speak to her now I would tell her that she is a shero and has nothing to be ashamed off. Souad has lived another day to tell her harrowing story to the world.

43 of 49 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I Just Want to Thank You - The Torture WILL STOP, August 23, 2005

By 

Barbara Rose (BornToInspire.com) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Burned Alive: A Survivor of an "Honor Killing" Speaks Out (Paperback)

I want to thank you for writing this book. It is a horrific account of one woman, who is also an example of many women around the world whose human rights are less than that of an animal. I am so sorry for all you have been through.

It is because of the stories that I have read that have caused me to join hw.org - Human Rights Watch - Defending Human Rights Worldwide. The barbaric torture of women, the honor killings, the rape, stoning, burning alive will come to an end. Your story along with a few others was the major catalyst in my decision for helping to bring this to an end in any way I can.

Reading about what this girl endured was chilling. It is a book like this that causes humanity to take a stand for humanity. Souad is a hero. She speaks out. Because of her words and courage she is a catalyst for humanitarian change, especially for women and children around the world.

This is a book that I feel should be required reading in every school, in every land, until this torture comes to an end.

Read this book! This is a story where you might ask "why" something like this could happen. Maybe the reason is so we see to it that it never happens again.