Nate Nesbit
Third World Women Speak!
“Deserted… in a void…and we are looking for something always…I think it’s light”
-Raffo, 9 Parts of Desire pg 7
Despite Layal’s almost palpably exuded confidence and self-respect she clearly is still
looking for something else though she can only guess at what that thing is. Despite the use of
“we” in the passage, she is referring to the only person she paints into her portraits which is
herself. In Layal’s paradoxically comfortable and brutal lifestyle she has found a balance that
allows her to survive and yet she is still bounded by the men around her.
Layal’s reluctance to leave Iraq despite having the means to leave and even a home in
London where she could live with her sister, she still chooses to stay in Iraq. In her first entry she
laughs off leaving Iraq because of her guilt at leaving Iraq and depriving her country of even its
artists. She also holds the lofty position as the curator of the Saddam Art Center which is
something that greatly values. She didn’t however gain this position through a long and highly
qualified resume rather; she gained her position through a set of loose morals and a desire to rise
above the rest. The affair that she had with Saddam’s cousin is what both elevated her to a rich
lifestyle and boxed her into the lowly status of essentially a sex slave.
Layal comments on how her desire and passion for sex and the fact that she’s “good at
being naked” allows her to enjoy both of these lifestyles. She wakes up in the morning and is
“hungry every morning like I have never eaten before.” She is willing to do anything to feel love,
she says. Here we see the first crack in Layal’s armor, is she speaking of physically making
love? Or is she speaking of loving someone in a more platonic way?
