The Good Girls - My Thoughts

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I've seen this book, The Good Girls by Sonia Faleiro, floating around Instagram lately, so I decided to give it a read.

This book is about 2 teenage girls in India who are referred to as Padma and Lalli. Apparently, murder victims' identities are kept confidential in India. After they didn't return from the toilet (which was an outdoor field) one night, their family began to search for them. Eventually, both girls were found hanging from a tree, with their sandals neatly placed side by side near the tree trunk. Were they murdered? Were they raped? Did they commit suicide? Was this an honor killing done by the family?

This took place in 2014, but by the sound of it, you would think it was a LONG time ago.

I am half Indian, so I was able to understand some of the culture explained and language used in this book. But I can understand how someone who is not familiar with the culture might find this book foreign. There were times when I found it foreign! I found it interesting that a lot of the family dynamics and beliefs in this book were familiar to me, which means that my father came from this dynamic and way of thinking (partly, not nearly as extreme). And I saw lots of similarities to the way I was raised - never realizing that it was a cultural thing for Indian people. For that, I enjoyed this book, because I learned more about my upbringing and my family.

I appreciate all of the effort put into this book by the author, Sonia Faleiro, who is Indian. She actually spent a few years researching EVERY detail and aspect of the deaths of Padma and Lalli. She read through transcripts, watched interviews, conducted her own one-on-one interviews with key (and peripheral) players in the story, and really took her time to accurately and fully present this case as documented through interviews and transcripts.

This book gives you a lot to think about and helps you appreciate life and freedoms given to you in the US (which is where I live) and other countries. I don't think people realize that family honor and honor killings are still a thing in countries like India.

Ultimately, it was determined that the girls committed suicide by hanging themselves to avoid dishonoring their family any further after at least one of the girls had been having pre-marital sex. The boy she was having sex with, Pappu, was blamed for the murders initially, because he was the last person to be seen with the girls. But I do not think he or their relative, Nazru, could have committed the murders. Nazru seems very guilty and suspicious throughout the book. From the descriptions in the book, Nazru is a hermaphrodite, but identifies as male. Did he have issues with his sexuality that caused him to be jealous of the girls and their relationship with Pappu or was he devoted entirely to his family and wanted to uphold the family's honor? Pappu was definitely guilty of statutory rape and sexual assault, but there didn't seem to be any motive for him to kill the two girls. I also don't think he physically could have done it due to his small size. The crime scene and the bodies showed no signs of struggle. After the autopsy, it was determined that the girls had not been raped. But it is really alarming and eye-opening to see how autopsies, post-mortem exams, and criminal investigations are handled in a third world country!!!

My biggest question in all of this is: What was the significance of the 200 rupees that Pappu had given to Padma that day? Why was he paying her? Why did that exchange of money take place? Had she gotten pregnant and he was giving her money to get an abortion? Not even sure if abortions are a possibility in their state in India. Pregnancies were never tested for or determined in the autopsies from the information provided in this book.

I'm not really sure if we can ever be certain on whether or not this was an honor killing somehow orchestrated by the uncles or other family members or if this was a suicide to protect the family's honor. I'm leaning towards suicide because I think the girls knew they could never face their family or village again after being caught after dark with a boy.

It's unfortunate that not all rapes, honor killings, etc, get as much attention in India as this one did. But it doesn't sound like they have the resources to handle the number of incidents or the forensics.

What are your thoughts on this? Suicide or honor killing? What do you think the 200 rupees were for?