- Māzin Maʿrūf’s (1978-, Palestine) short story ‘Akwāriyūm’ (English trans. ‘Aquarium’) describes a couple who suspect they are pregnant, although if could also have been a blood clot. When the doctor, however, advises to removing the foetus/blood clot for medical reasons, the couple guards the lump first in a test-tube, and then in an aquarium, name it Munīr, and treat it as their son. But then, Munīr slowly starts to dissolve, and the couple is forced to look for alternative solutions. The short story can be found in Nukāt lil-Musallaḥīn (2015, English trans. Jokes for the Gunmen, 2019).
- Alīfah Rifaʿat’s (1930 – 1996, Egypt) short story ‘An Incident in the Ghobashi Household’. Zeinat is responsible for the Ghobashi household while her husband is away working in Libya (reference). When Niʾimah, eldest daughter of the family, gets pregnant, she sends her off to Cairo until the birth has taken place. Niʾimah has no say in her faith or that of her child and is forced to hide her illegitimate pregnancy.
- Sarah A. al-Shafei (1980-, Bahrain) – Yummah (2005), about a young woman living in Bahrain, Khadeeja, who is to be married to Mohammed. He turns out to be a kind man and they live a comfortable life and have nine kids while she also suffers from to miscarriages. Then Mohammed suddenly disappears, and she learns that he has remarried a rich woman in Dubai.
- May Talmissānī (1965-, Egypt) – Dunayā Zād (‘Dunyazad’, 1997) in which a young Egyptian couple has a miscarriage. The bereaved mother, twenty-five-year-old Dunyā Zād, describes her thoughts and feelings while dealing with their loss (reference).
Refrences:
In order of appearance
- Dermot McManus. 2018. “An Incident in the Ghobashi Household by Alifa Rifaat.” www.sittingbee.com, 29 June, 2018 http://sittingbee.com/an-incident-in-the-ghobashi-household-alifa-rifaat/ (last accessed 9 July 2023)
- Yazan al-Ḥājj. 2022. “‘Dunyā Zād’ fī al-Khāmisah wa al-ʿAshrīn.” www.alaraby.co.uk, 24 June 2022 https://www.alaraby.co.uk/culture/%22%D8%AF%D9%86%D9%8A%D8%A7-%D8%B2%D8%A7%D8%AF%22-%D9%81%D9%8A-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AE%D8%A7%D9%85%D8%B3%D8%A9-%D9%88%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B9%D8%B4%D8%B1%D9%8A%D9%86 (last accessed 10 July 2023)