‘Inshallah A Boy’ (2023) Review: Resisting the Forces of Patriarchy
Navigating the world under a patriarchal society that hinders the success of a woman’s life is explored in Amjad Al Rasheed’s Inshallah A Boy (God Willing, A Boy). It’s not just success that is in danger but her employment, the home she shares with her daughter and her dignity. A Jordanian thriller that centres around one woman and her daughter’s life, the fight against society’s unfair rules and the lengths she goes to resist the forces of patriarchy.
When Nawal (Mouna Hawa) wakes up one morning, she finds her husband dead. She inherits their home, custody of her four-year-old daughter, Nora (Seleena Rababah), and her late husband’s truck. While she mourns, her brother-in-law, Rifqi (Haitham Omari), asks her to sell her husband’s truck and pay the four outstanding payments. She also discovers that her late husband had never signed the papers that would make her the inheritor of the apartment. Rifqi warns her that if the payments aren’t made, he will take custody of Nora and take a slice of the apartment. Nawal is under a lot of pressure.
While resisting Rifqi’s demands, she returns to work as an in-house nurse for a wealthy Christian family. She hopes to repay the instalments using her salary, but it isn’t enough. With no other option and desperate to keep her home and her daughter with her, Nawal claims to be pregnant. But there is one thing she has to prove in front of the judge: a positive pregnancy test.
Inshallah A Boy doesn’t shy away from the impossible demands of the patriarchy. From the moment her husband dies, neighbours and family pour in to dictate her loneliness, her inheritance, and her role in the world without him. Nawal gets tangled in the rules of the world. She is aware of how the world treats widowed women. She is constantly being asked to be present and put others first instead of her emotions, especially the latter when she returns to work a few days after her husband’s sudden death.
Also, she doesn’t have the luxury of staying at home for four months and ten days (In Islam, this is called Iddah. When the husband dies, the woman has to go through a mourning or waiting period where she stays at home for that duration). Because her family only has one source of income and the debts she has to pay back, she returns to work. The outpouring of condolences never stops, but she is alone and tired of following everybody’s demands.
Furthermore, she is faced with another problem. How will she convince the judge that she is pregnant? An opportunity comes up. Lauren (Yumna Marwan), the rebellious and undevout daughter of the family with whom Nawal is employed, is pregnant. Yumna, however, is trapped in a miserable marriage: her husband is unfaithful and abusive, and she does not want to have children with him. When Nawal finds out about the pregnancy, desperate to convince the judge, she seeks out Yumna’s help by asking her to put her name on the pregnancy test. But Yumna wants to get an abortion.
Both of these women are in a difficult situation. Yumna’s wealth and privileged background don’t shield her from abuse; she represents the opposite of Nawal’s reality. Regardless of the religious, cultural, and societal differences, Nawal and Yumna understand each other’s predicaments. They know that their sins will have consequences, but even with their religious beliefs, Nawal helps Yumna get an abortion. In Islam, abortion is forbidden; however, it can be allowed if the mother’s life is in danger. Even a Muslim-majority country like Jordan has back-alley abortion clinics. Restricting abortion in countries doesn’t prevent abortion; it just moves underground, which increases the risk of unsafe procedures.
The entire scene that follows inside the back alley abortion clinic is difficult to watch. Al Rasheed shows the harsh realities women face when their choices are limited. What are women supposed to do when abortions and the right to choose a family are limited because of societal expectations? Would women have to go through dangerous procedures to end this cycle of trauma? Also, Al Rasheed shows the differences between Nawal and Yumna’s religious, cultural, and societal backgrounds to explain that no matter who or what religion they follow, patriarchy is a force that limits a woman’s right to choose.
Moreover, Nawal’s problems keep piling up. Rifqi and Ahmad constantly pester her to sell the truck. They expect her to fall to their demands. Nawal knows that because of cultural and societal reasons, Rifqi will have every right to take custody of Nora. Because Nawal’s late husband didn’t sign her as the inheritor of the apartment, it gives Rifqi more rights to claim it. This would mean that Nawal and Nora might become homeless, but a ploy to make Nawal live in their home with them until she gets married off to someone else. Before her late husband’s death, they worked together to keep their house and family afloat.
She cannot pay back the four instalments with only Nawal's salary. She has to sell her apartment furniture to follow Rifqi’s demands. It doesn’t make it easier for Nawal when Rifqi and Ahmad constantly keep badgering her to take a pregnancy test. The constant pressure of the male characters in her life: Rifqi’s deliberate warnings to take further action to make her life more miserable not even a month after her husband’s sudden death, Ahmad’s lack of understanding and support, and the couple of male judges that dare not listen to her pleadings.
Al Rasheed constantly shows Nawal’s life through her eyes. She wants to protect her child from all of this and find a solution to her husband’s debt that she has to pay. (This is also pointed out to the judge, which doesn’t seem to make a difference to him). It keeps challenging the foundations of a patriarchal society that belittles women. Inshallah A Boy begins as a sad drama but slowly shifts into a nightmare for Nawal.
Like Nawal, many women are shrunk down to bend down to the demands of the patriarchy. It’s not a religious issue but a cultural expectation that restrains the freedom and right to choose. Al Rasheed’s Inshallah A Boy is an unrelenting and unapologetic portrayal of women’s solidarity through religious convictions and resisting societal expectations. The movie shows how Nawal and Yumna overcome these obstacles to let themselves breathe in a world that constantly pushes them into a corner to be subjected to humiliating realities.
Here are some reading materials to learn about the genocide and ethnic cleansing in Palestine and the BDS (Boycott, Divest, Sanction) movement:
Books about Palestine on Verso Books
Books about Palestine on Haymarket Books
