The Women’s Charter

Ruled by fear and helplessness, Amal Bounmer lives a conservative rural life in her Druze village in Mount Lebanon, where many of life's big questions remain ignored and unanswered in the isolated and highly religious village. The father of the family, a sheikh and blacksmith, wields the hammer of his authority over the family to shape the future of his four daughters according to his limited perspective. Amal’s parents’ religious beliefs stand in the way of her enrolling in the American University in Beirut. Amal therefore makes a bargain intended to secure her emancipation by marrying Salem, a wealthy Druze man. Will Salem keep his promise? Or will Amal face a new struggle to achieve her dream? The Women’s Charter is a novel about freedom in its broadest sense, about motherhood as both a predicament and an opportunity, and about love that transcends geographical, religious, and cultural boundaries.