How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Title.Paragraph)
Quote #7
At the center of the group, a girl my age crouches in the dirt. Her scalp has been freshly shaved.
[…] "That's what she gets," he says "for trying to run away from her husband." (60.Disgraced.1, 5)
"Try to escape with that head of hair," Mumtaz, says, "and they'll bring you right back here." (70.Sold.29)
Lakshmi is told by Uncle Husband that a shaved head is a symbol of disgrace, and there is some truth to this in India. A shaved head implies that the person whose head is shaved has broken a set of rules. The lack of hair is meant to be a punishment, as hair is perceived as valuable both to the individual and society. But while Uncle Husband is telling the truth, he's also using the socially accepted practices to control Lakshmi and her actions by instilling fear in her—just like Mumtaz does.
Quote #8
One day, a customer addressed his friend in my language as they left.
"How was yours?" he said. "Was she good?"
"It was great," the other one said. "I wish I could do it again." (97.TheCustomers.4-5)
Key to the brothel's success are the men willing to pay to have sex with girls and women; in other words, to value women for sexual satisfaction alone, instead of as humans.
Quote #9
"When they heard I was coming," she says, "they met me outside the village and begged me not to come back and disgrace them."
"Did you get to see your daughter?" I say.
Monica cannot meet my eyes.
"They told her I was dead." (130.TheLivingDead.10-13)
This is one result of how gender and perceptions of sex affect how society functions. Even though we might assume that Monica was manipulated into coming to Happiness House like Lakshmi was, the reactions of her family upon her return are not sympathetic in the least—instead her family rejects her. Monica is blamed for her prostitution, while the men and women who bought her and abused her are not. What choices does Monica have left once her family rejects her?