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Although they were less segregated than town and village woenerally veiled, they had a much lower status thanhousework, cooking, raising children, draater, spinning and weaving, setting up and dise by ten to fifteen years It was accepted here that a woman would be worn out and old by forty

With each case Jay felt her blood boil at their conditions and, worse, their acceptance of the a wo her and Jay over, had launched into a defense of their way of life, extolling hoomen were protected by a strict code of honor, couldand dye their long hair with henna

“Protected, strict code, relatively freely—allowed!” Jay ave her a placating pat “It’s too entrenched They know nothing else, think there’s nothing else to know, or should be known So don’t you start preaching wo they should be left as they are?”

“I’ht to i Jay feel like an over-zealous fool Her next words defused the feeling—on purpose, Jay bet Hessuh was an astute, thoughtful woman “And then time and the randeneration”

“If you’re the exaes brings, I’ wohed “The way you speak your heart and ood or bad, never ceases to a on that here and it’s aib … shaenuinely feel or think Another reason it’s such a pleasure to be around you is that you don’t reat, all around”

Hessuh smirked “Other women, of course Fe to bear inwomen’s conditions Some of women’s worst and er to every woman’s husband, especially as I’m also loose and naked” She looked wryly down her modestly attired, lithe, curvaceous body “I’ and so on But instead of wishing or trying to change their status, they attackthe oppressor, huh?” Jay chewed her lip thoughtfully “I guess every victi”

Hessuh sighed “Apart frole-handedly raise children here It’s they who raise their s”

“Why?”

“As I said, patriarchal conditioning has become a part of the female psyche here And then there is another fes his wife to the fa her a subordinate as she’d been to her own mother-in-law”

“But—that’s sick!” Jay cried

“It’s hoorks But as I said, tis My sister is ineer who thinks her looidity and injustices are most perpetuated, not only here but all over the world”