Flowers for the Women Wearing Veils - Volume II — Page 141
141 continue to be ineffective ; and as long as the question of meals is unresolved, a woman’s life will remain useless. It is also plausible that mealtimes could be reduced from four times to twice daily. A simpler option for b reakfast could be thought of and such meals could be prepared as can be used several times. Bread should be bought from the market , b ut if a woman is assigned the work of cooking and washing dishes all day, then she will be rendered utterly useless and will not be able to spend time on anything else. Domestic Issues Hence, wherever it is necessary for you to keep religious problems in view, it is also equally necessary for you to resolve domestic issues. In India , the primary reason for the decline and deterioration of the Muslims is that when they acquired wealth, they indulged in worthless habits such as men sitting at home cutting chalia (betel - nut) and rolling paa n (betel - leaf). The wom e n were engrossed in cooking, first frying one item, and then another. Sometimes she decide d to make chutney , sometimes she settle d on making a dessert. The outcome was that while they were absorbed in preparing food, the English took over the ruling of the country. This problem is not prevalent anywhere as much as it is in India. Take a look at the Arabs; they all buy bread from the market. Go and look at Egypt; everyone gets bread from the bazaar. They do not even prepare curry at home. They buy it from the bazaar. Kidney beans are in great supply there. Go to M ecca or go to Cairo in the mornings and large pots of kidney beans will be prepared. Everyone takes their own con tainers and brings home kidney beans and bread baked in clay - oven. Poor people eat it as it is and the rich people add tarqa [ heated oil with spices ]. Likewise , for the midday meal , bread is bought f rom the bazaar along with something inexpensive for curry. Thus, they manage. B ut in our country, the situation is such that they say with great pride that we w ish to employ a cook who can make eighty rotis [ flatbread ] from two pounds of flour. The shopkeepers have simplified their work by getting six rotis out of two pounds of flour. The English have done so by getting four, sometimes two [ rotis out of two pounds of flour]. And they [the Indians] have made their task burdensome by making eighty chapattis [ thin handmade bread made from flour ] at a time. All these goings - on are futile, which we shall have