Mariam's mother proclaims:" Women like us. We endure. It's all we have."

Mariam tries to stand up for herself. She had so much stacked up against her. Despite the fear and constant threat of violence she stands up to Rasheed inadvertently killing him. Like her mother, she dies but not by her own hand. She dies with a sense of honour and contentment that she has loved in her life. Laila actually does endure. She survives the abusive Rasheed and ends up marrying a more decent man named Tariq.