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Shackles of Thoughts [Story]
Mohammad Asif Islam has just got married. The bride’s name is Ayesha Khatun. They both are well-educated. Asif works at a private bank in Dhaka while Ayesha is yet to find a job.
Before her consent to marry, Ayesha wanted to know from Asif whether it would be alright if she worked as well. Asif answered in the affirmative. In fact, he assured her of it. Ayesha was so happy to hear such positive words from Asif and agreed to marry him.
Right after the marriage, everything seems upside down to Ayesha. The Asif that she talked to before the wedlock seems just the opposite now. Asif has forcefully told her not to talk about searching for jobs again since his parents do not like it whatsoever.
When Ayesha reminds Asif of his promise made prior to the marriage, he behaves as if he could not recollect anything. Ayesha finds herself entangled; as if she were in a jail who is searching for fresh air to breathe. She tells Asif,
- You’re backboneless!
- How dare you call me that!
- Yes, that’s what you’re! You’ve no personality! You’re like a monkey who dances at the gestures of the owner!
- Stop talking rubbish or else…!
- Or else what! You’ll beat me, huh! That’s what you fake persons are good at!
- Stop you bitch!
- Why should I stop? If you’ve the right to do job, I should also have that right. Why did I post-graduate then, huh? Don’t I deserve to do job?
- You don’t need to. My relatives’ll ridicule me if you go outside and converse with outsiders, mix with them. This is not done. It’s a matter of my social prestige.
- Why the hell do you not understand? There’re countless wives who support their families financially.
- I don’t need to depend on your financial aid to survive. I’m solvent enough to run my family. You’re not doing the job, that’s it.
Ayesha seems to be on an island with no one around! She thinks that it will be fruitless to talk to her mother-in-law or father-in-law since they have already made Asif convinced of not letting her do a job.
Ayesha has talked about the matter with a few of her friends and also with her parents. Whoever hears about it, becomes astonished since everyone knows that Asif agreed with Ayesha’s wish to be a job-holder. This is extremely pathetic!
Ayesha’s father Md. Jamal Uddin has suggested her of talking to Asif’s father about the matter himself but Ayesha has not agreed with his proposal since she knows it well that all the endeavours will go in vain. There is also a possibility of getting insulted.
Obviously, Ayesha is rather irritated with Asif. She does not feel like talking to him anymore. All her dreams are shattered like broken glass.
However, worse things are yet to appear in Ayesha’s life. Whenever any guests come to the house, Ayesha is not allowed to welcome them or talk to them. Even the tea is served by the maidservants. Now, she feels awfully suffocated as if someone were strangling her to death slowly!
Ayesha is never allowed to go outside on her own. If she needs anything, she must let Asif or the servants know of it. Besides, she is bound to go outside with a yashmak on. She must have her veil on the face; she must never use Facebook; she must not laugh loudly and so on.
Ayesha cannot stand all these anymore. She talks to her parents about divorce but they do not agree. They attempt to convince her to settle in the new environment.
They fail to realise that Ayesha has no life, no identity; they are unable to apprehend the intolerable pain that their sweet daughter has been suffering from. She is like a doll to her husband now.
Finding no other way out, Ayesha commits suicide by hanging herself on the fan while Asif is at the bank. After two months, Asif marries again and the new wife is robustly drilled to abide by those conditions that caused the naïve Ayesha to kill herself!
