Thy Womb

Shaleha Sarail hails from a water-village in Sitangkai, Tawi-Tawi. The province is a seaweed producing area in the southern most part of the Philippines down to the Malaysian and Indonesian archipelagos. A woman of mature years, experiencing a 3rd miscarriage, Shaleha agonizes that she can’t bear a child. Though an adoptive parent to her nephew, she still feels that her husband Bangas An desires to be a father. To fulfi ll her husband’s only wish and to be blessed by Allah as having a child is a tangible proof of divine grace, Shaleha decides to march to a different drummer. Her resolve is to fi nd a new partner for her husband. Night and day, she and her husband sail island, fl oating-village, and nearby communities in search of a fertile woman. Providentially, Shaleha fi nds the girl as recommended by friends. But on the eve of her husband’s second marriage to Mersila, a gnawing jealousy consumes Shaleha.