The mother of the child in question
...ety than the mother and has a larger understanding for the rules and norms in the particular country. But the father is not there for the meeting, so Stephen has to deal with the mother. No smiles. A proud, cold, stubborn woman, eyes flashing, she demolished him I Urdu. Hassan translated the long tirade thus. My mother says Shireen must go to the big school with the rest of us.” ( l.73 ) The mother is not willing to talk, because she cannot, or will not, face the fact that her daughter is different. Maybe it is because she is not well integrated in the society and therefore cannot understand how things are done. The country she is from probably does not have special schools, so she thinks that her daughter does not need to go to one. Or maybe she just refuses to accept that her daughter is unable to do something. As a mother you tend to think that ones daughter can do anything she sets her mind to, this is also the thought behind the mothers actions. The picture called “A Mother plaiting her little daughter’s hair” is an example of a mother’s great affection towards her daughter. It is the same thing in this story, the daughter means a lot to the mother and she will do anything to help and protect her. The father is not there for the session, even though he promised Stephen to be there. The father knows that his wife is a stubborn woman and that she will not allow for Shireen to start in a special school. So he chooses to stay away, that is the easy thing to do and as long as he is not there the government obviously will not do anything about Shireen. At first Stephen cannot understand why the mother is so stubborn about the school, if money is not an issue. “The little girl was swaddled in their tenderness, the family adored her, what was she going to learn at the special school better than she was getting from her family?” ( l.122 ) But suddenly Stephen understands why the family will not send the girl to the school and that the girl does not need the school. She has a lovely family they all love her unconditionally and that is all she needs. That is why the father did not show up for any appointments and why the mother has been so firm about her decision. The girl has all she needs right there in her own home, simple or not. “Bloody marvellous, shouted the social worker into the wind. He opened his file against his knee then and there and wrote, Father did not turn up as arranged. His presence essential. The date. His own name.” ( l.133 ) The social worker probably writes the exact same thing as the previous one who had visited the family. He shouts bloody marvellous and that points toward excitement, but he does not do anything to help the family. It is as if he deep inside does not care what happens and even though he thinks it is a beautiful thing when he is there, he chooses to get on with his life and not to think about it on his way home. Or maybe he writes it to help the family. He knows that he cannot explain to his employer that it is a good family and all the things he has seen, so he chooses to write that the fathers presence in necessary ...