“She is an infidel,” Hamzad said. “Why should any of you be surprised?”
“Quiet!” Farzad silenced his men. “Let our honored guest speak.”
The Mullah went on for some time about how women should behave, quoting the Quran and various teachings on the subject, while Derek quietly sent a text message to the team in Mazar-e-Sharif to be on standby. His mind raced through different rescue scenarios, but none of them held a high probability of success. He was outnumbered more than twenty to one. He would need additional assets—a chopper, ground support.
What a mess that would make. Once bullets started flying, there was no way to make sure that only bad guys got shot. Innocent civilians would die, too—and all because of Jenna’s damned idealism.
He got it. He really did. She hadn’t been able to let that girl and her baby die needlessly, so she’d done something about it. But actions came with consequences.
The Mullah then told about several Afghan women who had spoken to men who were not relatives and who had been beaten or flogged for their immodesty. Not long ago, a woman had been shot by the Taliban in the neighboring Kunduz Province after someone had seen her talking to a man in front of her home.
Over my dead body.
Farzad listened to all the Mullah had to say, pondering his words, a pensive expression on his face. “I will tell you the truth of what happened here.”
He told the Mullah the story—how a young wife had been in labor with a child that was too large for her to bear and how the Western midwife had told the girl’s mother-in-law to say to the husband that his wife needed an operation or she and the baby would die. “The mother-in-law didn’t repeat her message to the husband but instead chose her own words. The husband refused the surgery.”
Then Farzad described how this midwife—he never said Jenna’s name—had opened the door just a crack and spoken to the mother-in-law. “She spoke respectfully, calling her ‘Grandmother,’ but there were men in the room, and they heard her. They grew angry and confused by this. But the husband, hearing the truth from her, changed his mind and allowed the surgery. His son was born through that surgery, and both the baby boy and his mother survived.”
Derek waited, along with every man in the barracks, for the Mullah’s reaction.
The old man stroked his gray beard. “She did not let the men see her?”
“No, no. She opened the door just a crack so the mother-in-law could hear her. She said nothing in a flirtatious tone of voice, for her only concern was ensuring that the mother-in-law told her son the full truth so that she could save the life of the wife and baby. She does not understand our culture, but her brother, who is here with us and has lived in our country as a guest for a long time, has disciplined her.”
Heads turned Derek’s way, but he waited for an invitation to speak.
“Do you understand our words?” the Mullah asked.
“Yes, I do.”
“What can you tell me about your sister?”
“She is a virtuous woman who cares for the lives of women and children. I was in the waiting room when my sister spoke through the crack in the door. If she had said anything flirtatious or disrespectful, I would have silenced her myself. She did something she shouldn’t have done, but she did it to try to save the young mother and her baby because the grandmother hadn’t been truthful.”
The Mullah seemed to consider this. “If the mother-in-law’s words had not been corrected, the husband would have lost his son and his wife. Surely, that is a reason for gratitude. And, yet, we cannot have Western women who come as aid workers casting aside our ways because their culture tells them they are free to do so.”
Everyone seemed to agree on this point.
“We will not sacrifice our culture or religion for them,” Hamzad blurted to the approval of the other men.
The Mullah went on. “The prohibition against women’s speech in the Quran is against complacent speech—words spoken without a thought for consequences, speech intended to incite lust or bring about flirtation. It does not seem to me that this midwife was complacent in her speech. Rather, she behaved recklessly out of a desire to ensure that the husband knew the truth of his wife’s situation. I cannot see a need to punish her more than her brother already has. If the mother-in-law had been more careful in passing on the message, this would likely not have happened at all.”
“It is good to hear your wisdom in this matter.” Farzad was clever with his words, flattering the Mullah. Derek would give him a brand new M4 for this. “I will consider it settled then.”
“God is most merciful.” Derek tried not to let his relief show. “I thank you for your understanding and wisdom. I will speak with my sister again to make certain she knows that you have been good to her today.”
He didn’t miss the look of disappointment on Hamzad’s face.
The men finished their tea and went back to their posts. Derek stepped outside, too, waiting until the Mullah and his men had climbed into their vehicle and driven away before texting Jenna to tell her that the danger had passed—for now.
* * *
Jenna stepped outside,holding her headscarf in place as she hurried through the cold wind to Derek’s Land Cruiser, which he had parked inside the compound near the back door. Derek had said he’d waited until everyone was busy with evening prayers to talk because he wasn’t sure how Farzad’s men would react to seeing her.
What had he meant by that?
He pushed the front passenger door open for her, and she climbed inside. The engine and heater were on, so the vehicle was deliciously warm.