Honor

Smita recounts her life as Zeenat Rizvi, a Muslim girl in India, which began when her Muslim parents eloped. Her father was a professor of Hinduism, and the family lived in a cosmopolitan neighborhood in Mumbai. Communal riots happened in 1996, and his writings on Hinduism made him a target. The family hid with an Anglo-Indian neighbor while pretending they left the city. Mohan interrupts Smita’s flashback, saying she does not have to share her past if she does not want to. However, she continues: One day, her parents snuck out to an award ceremony, and being bored, she called her friend across the street, only for her to accidentally reveal her family’s hiding place to this friend’s mother—Pushpa Auntie. Five men showed up and dragged Smita and one of her two brothers, Sameer, into the street. They insisted Sameer prove he was Hindu through a lack of circumcision, and one man groped Smita. Their parents returned, and the family was forced to convert to Hinduism. They then decided to move to America.

Smita blames herself for upending her family’s lives. Anjali calls to let her know that the court will announce the trial verdict on Wednesday.