Behind the Beautiful Forevers: Chapter 7 Summary & Analysis

At the Burn Ward in Cooper Hospital, Fatima enjoys being treated like she matters. She lies in her first bed, surrounded by dirty medical equipment, and relishes the stream of visitors from Annawadi. The most important of these is Asha, who tells Fatima that it would be dangerous to lie about how she was burned considering the many witnesses. Furthermore, Asha has arranged for the Husains to pay for the hospital if Fatima drops her charges.

Fatima has already registered accusations against Karam, Abdul, and Kehkashan. This prompted Karam’s arrest and Abdul’s subsequent flight to the police office. But Fatima’s daughter Noori has refuted these claims by saying she saw her mother light herself on fire. Now Fatima has to update her story and prove that the Husains incited her to commit suicide, a serious crime in India after British colonizers tried to end the historical practice of widows burning themselves on their husband’s pyres. Fatima makes a new statement to the Special Executive Officer explaining that she lit the match, but Abdul threatened and beat her until she felt she had no other choice.

Fatima spends three days at the public hospital, with her husband forced to buy all her food and medicine on the black market and bring it in to her. The doctor just tells Fatima’s husband to apply an expensive burn cream and bring Fatima three bottles of water a day. Fatima’s family can’t afford this.

Over in the Sahar Police Station, Abdul is beaten with a leather strap. The officer warns Abdul that if the disabled women dies, Abdul will be charged with murder. After what feels like hours of pain, Abdul hears Zehrunisa crying to the receptionist. He tries not to scream but can’t help himself. Eventually, Zehrunisa’s crying gets quieter and Abdul hopes that she has gone home.

Abdul and Karam are kept in the police station’s “unofficial cell” where the police do not have to fill out paperwork to detain them. For three days, Abdul is kept there as the police ask over and over why he beat a crippled woman. Abdul has no answer but the truth, that he insulted Fatima but never touched her. The police move on to Karam, asking how he expects to feed his family from jail. Karam knows they just want to extort as much money as possible. The Husains will be innocent or guilty depending on how much they pay.

Abdul and Karam debate about paying these bribes, knowing they will have to save money for a lawyer if Fatima dies. Zehrunisa appears periodically to give updates on how much Asha is asking to make this whole thing go away. After helping Zehrunisa talk to the police for free the first day, Asha now wants 50,000 rupees. Zehrunisa is hesitant because she has already paid Officer Thokale to keep the interrogation fair. The Special Executive Officer who takes the Husains’ statements also wants money to spin the official record in their favor. Zehrunisa would rather pay Fatima’s husband directly so that Fatima can go to a private hospital instead of dying in the public Cooper.

As the days in the station stretch on, Abdul ignores all of this, thinking of an action movie called Alive where a man was imprisoned for years for a crime he didn’t commit. Abdul never had big dreams for his future— he just hoped to earn money to live comfortably. He thinks about his mother’s nostalgia for the old days when people accepted their fates and suffered together. Now, the world is so competitive that no one will help the Husains as their future crumbles.

Abdul spends his days in a haze, unaware of much besides the periodic beatings. Eventually, he overhears a phone conversation between Officer Thokale and Asha which has the miraculous result of making the beatings stop. Abdul wonders why Asha would help him, eventually deciding that Asha has seen his hard work over the years. Karam knows that Asha is only trying to show her own power in the police station.

Four days after Fatima’s burning, a Muslim fakir (monk and miracle-worker) comes to Annawadi. Kehkashan jumps at the opportunity to receive a blessing before she herself must go into custody at the police station. Next door, Fatima’s husband curses the fakir and Kehkashan feels that he has set up himself and Fatima up for bad luck. Indeed, Fatima dies that night.

Fatima’s burns are recorded as the official cause of death, but it is really an infection that kills her. Kehkashan and Zehrunisa, as the only other Muslim women in Annawadi, take over the burial rites, while Zehrunisa sobs about the new false charges of murder against her family. The Husain boys carry Fatima to the graveyard, past the luxury hotels where Americans gleefully discuss the new business opportunities in a wealthier India. Fatima’s daughters are sent to Sister Paulette’s orphanage.