GINI: THE ISOLATED QUEEN

“You are always discourteous”

These words and the tenderness of her voice made me sit and sympathize with a Somali prostitute in one of Nairobi’s famous nightclubs.

The young lady was standing in front of a discotheque where I was passing at about nine in the evening. Realizing I was Somali she waved to me. I was overwhelmed by her beauty, figure as she was approaching me.  She was in a tight mini skirt and thin sleeveless top revealing beautiful bosom carried by a beautiful waist on long flawless legs, her long black silky hair hanged over her back. In short, she had all you would admire in a woman.

  “Hi, brother” She greeted me smiling.

“May I please ask for a favor” she added  

I could not comprehend a single word of what she said as I was captivated by her big, black angelic eyes. But at last I got the ability to reply and willingly offered that I would do whatever I could.

She asked for money to buy drinks. I jerked as if I had just stepped on a snake!  Taking one step backwards I rudely insulted her. To my astonishment she neither insulted me back nor annoyed, she rather apologized for inconveniencing me.

 “Men, you are always discourteous!!” she told me walking away.

I didn't answer and hastily walked away cursing her. After I had gone for about three hundred meters, her words echoed in my ears. I immediately turned around going back to the club, forgetting my lessons in Madrassa when I was a boy that I should never show kindness to anybody who is against the Islamic teachings according to my teachers. I found the lady trying to get noticed by a man with his girl friend. The man would have grabbed her hand but he couldn't, for he was in the company of his fiance and I could see how helpless she felt.

At that moment I was so moved that I felt guilty as if I were one of her close relatives who left her fall prey for every corrupt man to treat her as sex object; nothing more!

Something at the back of my mind was telling me this lady didn't choose to be in this kind of life and must have been pushed to this extreme.

“Does she not deserve to be treated as a dignified human being?”   I asked myself in agony.

She was leaning on to a wall and I approached her from behind saying “Walaalo”. As she turned around and looked at me I could read her intelligence and kindness on her face.

“I am sorry about how I have just behaved, please forgive me” I pleaded.

She looked at me for a while without uttering a word. A minute later, she smiled and told me she couldn't believe her ears!

“I am Ahmed” I said extending my hand to shake hers.

“I am yet to know your gesture!” she exclaimed shaking my hand. 

I suggested going inside. The music was loud and the noise of the people made it difficult for us to hear one another.

“Have you accepted my apology, sis” I shouted.

“I have” she replied cautiously.

We asked a waitress if she could get us a table at a less noisy area outside. She took us to a balcony where there were few people and had no speakers. My friend ordered beer without specifying a type; the waitress before stepping away asked the kind of beer we needed.

 “Heineken” I replied.

As we waited for our drinks she extended her hand saying “Nice to meet you, I am Gini”   awesome! The name suits her beauty I assured myself.  Two bottles of beer and empty glasses arrived. Gini pushed one empty glass and a bottle of beer to me. After taking several more drinks she noticed I had not touched my drink,  she asked me in surprise why I wasn't drinking and seemed not enjoying her company. I told her that I didn't drink.  

“Then what the hell are you up to” she angrily shouted at me.

 I replied that I was only trying to apologize and befriend her. She fixed her wide, beautiful eyes on me and suddenly turned back to her drink. I could not talk, for I had felt that Gini misunderstood me and knew if I continued speaking she would lose her temper.

“I can read your mind, you think this b**** is in need at this hour” She added angrily

“You got it wrong” I replied smiling.

Gini laughed and wondered if I was mentally fit because, as she would later tell me, she had never met a Somali man sitting with her in a disco just to say sorry to her. Those she used to either insulted her or came for her services. For the whole night, after I got along with her, we chatted and talked almost everything we could. At one o’clock in the morning I told Gini that I wanted to leave and excused myself. She also told me she won’t take long. As I stood up she jokingly said to me

 “There you go wrong again, can’t you even ask for my number”

“Gini, you think I can lose you so easily” I replied.

We both laughed and exchanged numbers. Just before I went out of the door she waved to me and I returned. She told me that she was too drunk and wanted me if I could afford to give her money for taxi home. Luckily I had enough for a cab to take her home.

During the few hours I spent with Gini that night, I was in awe of her eloquence, frankness and found her intelligent person who innocently fell into a trap set by men. I never enjoyed the company of a stranger as I did with Gini. Although I had attempted to know when she came to the world of prostitution, she cleverly avoided my questions. In fact, I knew she didn't want me to take her back to the anguish she went through, and that was the reason I took her phone number hoping that I would one day know.

Two weeks later, Gini called to tell me how sorry she was to call late and thank me for the drink. I also felt ashamed for not trying to call her earlier and told her it should have been I to thank her for accepting my friendship. Before she responded I asked if we could meet the following weekend. Her reply was positive. I proposed that we meet at the same nightclub, “I know you won’t drink, what about an afternoon’s chat over  Miraa” she suggested.

 “Good idea” I replied laughing as she hanged up.

We met where we’d agreed. After shopping, Gini took me to her residence. Once we reached I asked her to go out and buy the Miraa. I didn't like to be seen going in her house at daytime as I was afraid of being labelled as one of her customers. She kindly accepted my excuse and fetched Miraa. While she was away, I misbehaved and wandered in the house. Admiring her photos on her living room walls, I saw something I didn't expect! Far at one corner I saw a desk and shelves full of books. I walked towards it, what I saw really revealed something I wanted to know about Gini. One of the two top shelves contained books of different genres; the other one was solely for Islamic religious books.

Involuntarily, I picked Asra Nomani’s Standing Alone in Mecca and started to read forgetting I was a guest and needed to behave accordingly. As I enjoyed reading Gini’s taste, I heard her voice.

 “I hope you like what I read” she said smiling. I stood awkwardly not knowing what to say.

 “You have done nothing wrong” Gini assured me noticing my uneasiness.

I walked to my seat murmuring words I could not even comprehend. Gini spread a rug on the floor, put special pillows on it just opposite the sofa set then entered into the kitchen to make the kind of tea needed for "Qayilaadda" - Miraa chewing. Seemingly, Gini was still mistaken about my intentions. She later went into the bathroom, had a shower and came back dressed in a way that could drive a Sheikh out of the mosque. She knew the rules of the game and expected that in the course of the day I would be ready to pay in advance for a good service. However, what I really wanted was to know about her life and when it had taken the U-turn to her current situation.

Gini handed bundles of Miraa to me and sat down facing me. I divided it into two of one kilo each.

“Choose one” I said, putting them on the rug.

“The one on the right”

“You've chosen the better one” I lied.

She shrugged and took hers; silently informing me she’s aware of my trick. As we enjoyed our Miraa and watched the TV, about half an hour later, I asked Gini to let me pick the book I was reading and continue to read while the drug took effect before we started talking. She said she didn't mind but suggested that we listen to music first. Just before I replied, her cell phone on a table far at the corner of the room rang. She looked at me in excuse and I motioned her to pick. I could hear her tell the caller that she had less aggressive and non-alcoholic guest. Before she sat, Gini picked a small container from her hand bag, poured white stuff on the table, granulated and sniffed it. Seeing I was upset, she persuaded me that she knew I didn't like it but she really needed it and was sorry about that, I didn't protest and continued our conversation. Gini switched her music system and played a Somali classical music, “This is Gududo’s classics, I hope you like it” she told me bragging.

“I do, how do you know my taste?” I asked, astounded

“Professionals read peoples’ minds” she replied with a suggestive smile.

I told her I wished her quit this profession.

“You don’t cross your borders, do you?” she challenged.

She was under the influence of drug and I had to wait for more than five hours before I could start asking her the questions I needed.  She lit a cigarette and I poured a cup of tea, after short silence I asked Gini if she could do me a favor.

“Put out my smoke” she demanded

“No”.  

She then asked me what I wanted.

“Would you please dress the way you like most” I pleaded.

Assuming that I would be playing my fantasies she stood to change.

 “Don’t you like this” she asked me stroking her nude belly.   

She came back in a long dress and a headscarf.

 “You look good in this” I sincerely observed.

I continued explaining to Gini that I didn't go to her looking for physical pleasure, but rather to know about her life and try to help her if I could.

“I hope you won’t mind if I ask you some questions about your life” I reluctantly told her.

 She cried and it took me half an hour to persuade her stop it. She told me that she was sorry for her misunderstanding about me and promised that despite the fact that it hurt when she narrates her life story she trusted me and was more than willing to talk to me frankly, but she needed time to know me more.     

Some hours after midnight that night, my ringing phone woke me up. I grabbed it and without looking the caller’s number picked the call.  It was Gini’s voice, I realized.

“Hello, is everything OK sweetie”

“Yeah, but tell me why you’d changed your mind?”

“I don’t get you Gini!”

“Boy, don’t play the innocent angel here. Did you suspect that I am infected or simply because your are being proud”

“I see! Gini dear sister listen to me. Just allow me for one moment to talk. Never, ever think like this of me. I consider you as a dignified human being despite what you are in. I believe you deserve respect, how can I belittle you and I know you are a human being”

Seemingly, after I had left her, Gini continued chewing and sniffed some more of her drugs that she later assumed her taking of the drug in my presence pissed me off. And that was why I just focused on different issues pretending to be nice since I had no other excuse to get out. I believe she never met any man who enjoyed her company as human being and respected her brain.

Once I finished telling her so, Gini started crying over the phone and could not hang up, I tried to persuade her stop crying and was unable, and in agony I wished her good night and hanged up. At that same night we never had opportunity to talk about when we would meet and where.

About three weeks later, as I was walking in a narrow street in one of the Somali inhabited neighborhoods, Gini saw me.  She involuntarily bounced on me and hugged me, we exchanged pecks on the cheeks and held one another for a while as if we were twins who lived away from one another for years. I can still remember how the people on the street passing by us were looking at us. I can still hear the curse and the insults. Most of those who cursed me were men accusing me of behaving like an infidel in the streets of Paris or London.

Gini was still crying and had completely forgotten her friend who was awkwardly standing next to us. We went into a cafe to have a cup of coffee and chat for a while. As we sat waiting for our drinks she introduced me to her friend, we chatted for a while after which I asked the other lady if she minded giving me a chance to talk to Gini privately. I was very thankful when she left us with a sincere smile. I turned to Gini, looked her in the eyes and said in a gentle voice

“I can see you want to apologize, assume you have never offended me”

She interrupted me and started to talk about how she suspected my behavior after I had left her the day we had sat together for Miraa. She wanted to go into detail of what had gone through her mind to convince me forgive her and forget her rude words. Before she continued, I interrupted telling her that I believed her and how sincerely I wanted her to quit her profession and asked in a low tone voice

“Don’t you believe change is possible?”

“I don’t know” she answered her eyes filled up with tears.

I looked down at the table and stirred my already cold coffee, then said without looking at her

“Sis, I feel your pain but I want you to know that evil is in this world to lead us to the good. I believe is it beneficial if we are wise enough to learn from our mistakes, please don’t lose hope”

Gini broke into tears and leaned on my shoulder. She told me, still her head on my shoulder, that it was hard to get out the world of prostitution since the society is so repulsive and hardly accepts back those who go astray, and how particularly women would rather die than to seek acceptance from our patriarchal society.

“Please forgive me” she concluded.

“For what!” I exclaimed.

“You know, the behavior of your fellow men misled me and that is why I thought you were just like them. Remember, I told you I didn't believe you when we first met. Never have I met a man who gives me a single shilling leaving me alone without asking for my body in return”

She was so emotional that I suggested, since we were in a public place, she should stop talking and wait till we went her house to have a private, honest talk in confidence.

On our way to her place, I told Gini that we needed some Miraa to soothe her and relax together. I volunteered that I go and buy some. She laughed telling me that I knew nothing about Miraa quality. She gave me the keys to her flat and told me to wait her there.

“I won’t sit alone in there” I protested.

“What!! Do you want to come with me?” she asked in surprise

“Are you not ashamed of yourself?”

We got our Miraa and went back to her flat, sat together and had a wonderful evening as we chatted and sometimes talked about everything we could, mainly focusing on social issues. Late in that evening I gathered the courage to ask Gini about her life and what brought her into prostitution.

“I need time to know you more, you understand how deeply I mistrust men including you. Ahmed, please give me time” she sincerely asked me.

That sounded quite reasonable and I really liked her frankness. Few more weeks later a sense of trust started to develop as I patiently and sincerely tried hard to be a person who can make a friend. As time went by we became closer than before and now she was affable to the extent that she considered me a friend whom she can at last talk to and may confide in him later.

Our friendship took root and had always met talking hours whenever we got the opportunity besides our usual weekend Miraa chewing sessions. Gini was beginning to hate it but I insisted that she shouldn't stop it abruptly, in those sessions she taught me a lot about Islam and its history; I learnt different new interpretations of some historical facts and prophetic Hadiths I even knew.

I can’t forget how she explained our prophet’s kind and respect for women in general and how romantic he was to his wives. She taught me that it is only in the religion of Islam that you can have women bearing the same name with Allah! Are you shocked to find out this? So I was before Gini explained. She taught me about the Hadith in which our prophet encouraged men to marry AL-WADUD AL-WALUD. Is "Wadud" not one of Allah’s beautiful names?!

 She told me that is how Islam holds women in a high regard, a position men never achieved. Unfortunately, it is men with their patriarchal interpretation of Islam that they only talk about the last part of it.

“Our prophet meant the quality of the children not the quantity” she told me, adding that to make a difference in this world and leave a good legacy behind we need to parent children of character and integrity who can contribute to the well-being of the society. She said in this age only two kids or three whom you can bring them up with principle and vision are far much better than a dozen who will remain hostage to ignorance and poverty.

Gini told me about one other moving historical fact about the prophet. It was after the conquest of Makkah that he had gone to the grave of our great mother Khadija, he sat next to her grave to share his joyous moments with her. This act was, as Gini explained to me, a metaphysical contact to celebrate with her the victory of the message she had assured him in the first day was from Allah. What a respect and love! May the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.

From now on you might notice me addressing Gini as Sayidati, a title of respect and a way to just show how deeply I am indebted to her for teaching me what I never knew.

I am grateful to Sayidati, I learnt a lot from her. I realized how beautiful and interesting Islam is; I understood that Islam is not just the dessert culture based interpretations we hear these days. I understood, thanks to Sayidati, that Islam brings light to life. The Islam represented in the great scholars who contributed to foundations of almost every discipline in the sciences we know of today.

“The Islam I want is that represented in Al-Ghazali and likes, I don’t want that understanding which regards this world as a prison for Muslims” Sayidati told me one day.

I found her words quite true, there is a minority schools of thought that never go deep into the sacred text, they are only limited to the literal meaning. Sayidati taught me about the other schools of thought which the progressive modernists of our time belong to which some of their pioneers are  Imam Mohamed Abduh and his contemporaries, whose works when you read you feel the tolerance, compassion, respect, love and the universality of the message of Mohammed peace be upon him.

Gini made me ponder the creation of Allah and appreciate its beauty. I never had had a taste for poetry, art and music, thanks to her I now see the beauty Allah has put in everything in his creation. “Try to search and understand beyond what you see, only then will you see the beauty in it” she once told me. On that same day, she gave me a book to read which really opened my eyes to the beauty of Allah’s creation. It is by Dr. Mohamed Emara, a prominent Muslim philosopher, its titled  ISLAM AND THE FINE ARTS.  It teaches you how Islam nurtures the artistic natural instincts of human beings, something that will make you understand why music, poetry and arts in general flourished in the golden ages of Muslim history, a fact that made me cry for all those artists and talented musicians who passed away before I have known their works - now I am in black mourning for the late Dararamle and Kinsi who were the last to depart from our world - it also made me curse Hargeisa and our country Somaliland in general whose citizens don’t respect their poets, artists and musicians. Ahmed S. Bide, the walking cultural encyclopedia and Faysal  Mushteek the bridge of cultures whose works connect us to our neighboring Arab world and the West are just an example of those forgotten. Are they not ill treated in their home town Hargeisa? Have you ever heard anybody honoring them?

The book Sayidati gave me is so beautiful and made me realize that Islam never regards human beings as angles who are devoted to only worshiping Allah. After finishing this book, believe me or not, I am now learning how to play Oud and Gini is my tutor. Listening to her makes you read this natural book- the universe- to know Allah through his creation. Unfortunately, Gini is ostracized by the society and that is why I call her the isolated queen. I am grateful to her and will never forget what she has taught me. Now Sayidati has trusted me enough and knows I am her loyal student, I invite you to read her story as I had listened to and the agony she is going through. In one of our ordinary weekend sessions she told me it, here she starts:

 “When I look back at my past I fall sick for days. My family and the entire community disowned me for what I had not willingly chosen. This isolation is among the reasons that pushed me to this extreme after I was ostracized. I had a bright future ahead of me and always lived in my dream of one day becoming a surgeon or a lawyer. In my class from primary until I dropped out in form three, I always competed with boys and hardly missed number one. The unfortunate thing is that my parents did not equip me with the necessary guidelines to survive in today’s life, something that a lot of young girls still lack.

A man who is highly respected in the society shattered my dreams; he is the one who introduced me to drugs and all the evils I am enslaved to. Yet, the most painful thing is that he remains innocent and the whole community is in his support, simply because he is a man”

The man who destroyed Gini’s life is a senior figure in the government who takes advantage of his position and lures young girls with the money he swindles from the state.

Gini told me that she lost everything from the day she met this old man of her father’s age. It was one day after school when she and her friends were going back home. As they waited for bus at stage, this man stopped and offered them a lift. They couldn't refuse as he talked to them in a kind, parental way; it happened that Gini was the last to be dropped. While he drove her the man asked the girl about herself but she could not understand why he had such great interest in her. She told him all she could about her school and how she always beat boys in exams, the only thing she thought will please this “uncle”. Gini remembers that he was not listening to her, and after she stopped he began to talk about how beautiful she was and commented on her long neck and silky hair.

He started to come at the same time and found them at stage every day. He finally convinced her to wait for Uncle- the name he called himself- at school to pick her. He used to give her daily pocket money which Gini couldn’t finish and shared with her friends. He was setting a trap for this kid to fall and spent a lot of time and money just to win her trust, which he eventually did.

One day he told her that he met her teachers and was very pleased to know that she defeated all the smart boys in the exams. He persuaded her to accept his invitation at the week end to take her for sightseeing to Gacan Libaax.

“This offer is to express my appreciation to your excellence in school, he told me pretending kind to me” said Gini.

She told me that she could not resist going with him since he promised to take her to the scenery of the mountains she liked and bring her back early.

“Since geography was one of my favorite subjects I liked the idea of going to the famous Golis Range and telling my class about my visit to Gacan Libaax during the rainy season. I had not imagined I was headed for a nightmare, because I never thought Uncle would harm me” Gini admits sobbing

Before they had gone out of the city, he suggested that they take soft drink at a restaurant. An unscrupulous waiter whom Uncle had paid earlier administered a drug in Gini’s juice; minutes later while already travelling Gini felt dizzy and complained to Uncle asking him to take her back home and that was the last thing she remembers. She woke up bleeding and in painful situation; she cried and pleaded him to let her go. He showed her a video filmed while molesting her and demanded that she should come to him every weekend or he will give the tape to her school mates. From that day on, he continuously abused her introducing her to Miraa and alcohol, threatening her if she refused his demands the tape would go public and after she got pregnant he simply dumped her. Her family also disowned Gini after realizing she was pregnant. She told me that she was lucky and a female doctor helped her had a save abortion.

“It hurts please don’t ask me go further” she requested crying. The tone of her voice was so touching that I couldn't hold my tears.

The society whose norms are normally prescribed by men as Gini put it has failed her, for it was Gini who suffered of all the accusations and segregation, while the man who destroyed her life is regarded as a leader.   

This is the reason why Gini hated all men and also the fact that all men treat her as sex object, taking advantage of her vulnerability of being an addict.

 Apart from being an addict prostitute, this young lady remains polite and does everything possible to remain informed and educated. She told me she reads inspirational Islamic books but has difficulty with booksellers who think that she is no longer a good Muslim and hardly sell a book to her. I asked her if she practiced religion,

“I don’t” emphatically, Gini replied.

She told me that since the reactions of the people to her and the teachings of the religion are extremely apart, at times she felt religion has failed her but she firmly believed that it is the community that doesn't comply with the just teachings of Islam.

I have also suffered for being Gini’s friend. People always accuse me of being a wicked person. They don’t listen to my argument when I ask them: is it wise to be good only when it makes us look good? Does it make any sense to disassociate ourselves with those we consider gone astray instead of trying hard bringing them back to life?

I lost most of my male friends simple because I am also a friend to Gini; this made me feel lonely and had difficult time to cope with, but I later realized that losing them for Gini was a blessing in disguise. After all it is better to have one friend from whom you can borrow a book than a dozen who would just want you settle their Miraa bills.

Gini now works as a sales person in one of the local companies and has started schooling again, about one and half years ago she got admitted to the Nairobi University Law School. The first thing she did when she got employed was to enroll for this course and allocated her salary for furthering her studies. I asked Gini why she chose Law, and she told me it was one of her favorite fields since when she was in primary school and now that she can no longer go to a medical school this is the best option.