Prostitution and Transactional Relationships Theme Analysis

Although Firdaus (an Egyptian woman in the 1970s) is smart and once excelled as a student, she spends most of her adult life as a prostitute, first by coercion and later by choice. Because of her role as a prostitute, the men who pay for her services hypocritically scorn her for trading sex for money. However, even when Firdaus leaves prostitution behind, she discovers that society expects women to trade their bodies for various gains in every environment and scenario. Through Firdaus’s experiences in and out of prostitution, the book argues that although society looks down on prostitutes, all relationships between men and women in a patriarchal society are essentially transactional, hardly different from prostitution.

Although prostitution seems common in Egypt, people often demean Firdaus for the life she lives, indicating that society views transactional sex—having sex for money—as “not respectable,” even when much of that society takes part in it. After Firdaus runs away from her husband, Sheikh Mahmoud, a seemingly kind man named Bayoumi lets her live in his house with him for several months. However, when Firdaus decides she wants to find a job and be independent, Bayoumi beats her and locks her in his house. He starts raping her each night when he comes home, and lets other men enter and have sex with her as well, beginning Firdaus’s life as a prostitute. Bayoumi and the others often call her “slut, bitch,” reinforcing their disregard for her and her humanity. When Firdaus escapes Bayoumi, she wanders the streets until a policeman picks her up. The policeman berates her, saying, “You’re a prostitute, and it’s my duty to arrest you […] to clean up the country, and protect respectable families from the likes of you.” Even so, the policeman offers her money to have sex with him, suggesting that society at large condemns women who have sex for money—including those who have been coerced into prostitution—even while paying for their services. Firdaus eventually works independently, still operating as a prostitute but charging such high fees that she becomes wealthy with a large apartment, good food, and servants. Even so, Firdaus’s friend Di’aa—who also pays to have sex with her—tells her that she is “not respectable,” suggesting that regardless of one’s financial success, society still looks down on any form of transactional sexual relationship.

Firdaus leaves prostitution for several years to lead a normal life, become a “respectable” woman, and even fall in love, but she soon discovers that all relationships between men and women are essentially transactional. With her secondary school certificate, Firdaus finds work for an industrial company, though it pays so little that she must live in a much worse apartment than she did as an independent prostitute. Even so, she initially considers the sacrifice worthwhile, saying, “I was prepared to do anything to put a stop to the insults that my ears had grown used to hearing, to keep the brazen eyes from running all over my body.” Although poor again, Firdaus believes she is freed from being demeaned by society and exploited by men. However, before long she realizes that most women in her company have sex with their superiors to earn better treatment or avoid losing their jobs. She posits that just as she used to trade sex for money, her coworkers trade sex for favors. Since they can effectively buy their female employees’ bodies, the male superiors still look down upon the women. Firdaus observes, “I realized that as a prostitute I had been looked upon with more respect, been valued more highly than all of the female employees, myself included.” Her words indicate that, although society disrespected her as a prostitute, this is no different than male society’s disrespect for women in general. Firdaus falls in love with a man at her company named Ibrahim, a principled revolutionary leader. For a brief time, they are happy together. She has sex with him willingly—the only time in her life that Firdaus reports having sex for pleasure. However, when Ibrahim abruptly leaves her and marries a wealthy woman, Firdaus is crushed. She feels that Ibrahim simply used her, and decides that “men with principles were not really different from the rest,” because they use their principles and kind words to get “what other men buy for money.” Firdaus’s realization suggests that even in romantic relationships, men only trade their tenderness for sex, making the relationship just as transactional as prostitution, albeit less honest.

Firdaus ultimately returns to prostitution, since both parties are at least honest about their sexual transaction. It also pays better, giving her more agency. She concludes that since men control the world, they “force women to sell their bodies at a price, and that the lowest paid body is that of a wife,” since a wife is not paid, and her husband owns her (by Egyptian custom). She goes on, “All women are prostitutes of one kind or another. Because I was intelligent I preferred to be a free prostitute, rather than an enslaved wife.” Firdaus’s words suggest that, in a world run by men, any relationship between a man and a woman—whether an affair, marriage, or employment contract—is transactional, little different from outright prostitution. Firdaus’s view of relationships between men and women is certainly cynical, but reflects the reality of living as a woman in male-dominated Egypt in the mid-20th century.