Dear Mullah!
In one of the last issues of the magazine shameless Khanperi cursed me and said such bad things about me. Now that it is Ramadan, that is why I don’t want to curse or say bad things. Because fasting, performing prayer, children’s voices, and chirp of spinning wheel have exhausted me so much. Otherwise, I would burn her alive. You have no right to talk about decency, you have got used to shamelessness. Women should protect other women’s honor, but you have no honor. You should be ashamed of your headscarf. What is my guilt? I just wrote to uncle Mullah not to mock women, not to show their flaws. And while you should agree with me, you begin to curse me and reveal the secret of some women. You tell me that, sister Zeynab stole money from her husband and went to Mullah. Think about it yourself: which is a shame, to protect the rights of women or tell the secret of women to men? And it seems that you have never seen the picture in the 12th issue of the magazine. Do you know what was there? A husband left his beautiful wife (he married her with God’s commandment) and his child and went to a Russian woman. What can a woman do in such a situation? She should have a love prayer and she should go to sacred places to protect her husband from Russian women. May God destine you with such a husband, and you suffer. And to wear a love prayer and to steal money from husband, to do such incredible things to them are our secret. If we open these secrets, men will no longer respect us. Have you forgotten the deeds of your late grandmother Khanperi, after whom you were named, you fool? Haven’t you heard that your grandmother went to Mashtali shah and he made witchcraft and destroyed Paris city in a minute and blew poor Musyo Jordan’s mind? When Mrs. Shahrabani saw it, she told your grandmother: Khanperi, no wonder that Paris has been destroyed, it is surprising that men always tell us not to believe in witchcraft. How can’t we believe it while we see these with our eyes? And your late grandmother answered: “Dear, if men were wise, we couldn’t deceive them every time, we couldn’t do what we want.”
And now, we should follow in your grandmother’s steps, otherwise, men will not respect us, we will be worthless.
Aunt Spinner
Molla Nasreddin. November 10, 1906, N 32
