Mariam's mother proclaims:" Women like us. We endure. It's all we have." Do Mariam and Laila handle the injustices of their society differently...

Mariam and Laila hand injustices differently compared to
how their mothers handled injustices in their lives.  Mariam's mother constantly
complains about the injustices in her life, particularly those caused by Jalil's
abandonment.  She complains openly about Jalil in front of Mariam and tries to teach her
daughter not to trust him.  However, she does not share these feelings outright with
Jalil, nor does she try to change the circumstances of her situation.  Mariam, on the
other hand, lives quietly with Rasheed's abuse until the day that she stands up for
herself and Laila and kills him.  Mariam accepts the consequences of her actions because
she thinks that she did the right thing by standing up to
Rasheed.

Laila's mother also complains about the grief that
she experiences as a result of her two sons being killed during war.  She lets her grief
eat away at her.  Laila, however, asserts more agency in her life, and she finds reasons
to live.  She does not wallow in grief when her parents die nor when she thinks that
Tariq is dead.