Zainab Character Analysis in The Ministry of Utmost Happiness

Anjum’s informally adopted daughter, Zainab was abandoned on the steps of a mosque as a baby and taken in by the Khwabgah. Anjum adores raising a child, although at first, she is not very skilled at it. As a young child, Zainab is subjected to hearing terrifying stories of Anjum’s misadventures and experiences of oppression, which make the toddler Zainab scared and unhappy. Zainab’s stubbornness earns her the nickname “Bandicoot,” and, predictably, she throws a fit when a traumatized Anjum tries to dress her as a boy to protect her from violence. After the conflict this choice causes in the Khwabgah, Anjum leaves, and Zainab is raised mostly by Saeeda, another Hijra living in the Khwabgah with whom Zainab is close. As an adult, Zainab reestablishes a relationship with Anjum, and even marries Anjum’s close friend and business partner, Saddam Hussain. Zainab’s strongest personal trait is her ferocious love for animals: as a child, she tries to save animals destined for slaughter on the streets from their butchers, and her pet goat (a gift from Anjum) survives a record six Eid’s without being slaughtered for the religious feast. As an adult, her love for animals continues, and she brings many a foster animal to live at Jannat Guest House and Funeral Services, where she eventually moves in.

Zainab Quotes in The Ministry of Utmost Happiness

The The Ministry of Utmost Happiness quotes below are all either spoken by Zainab or refer to Zainab. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:

Corruption, Political Violence, and Capitalism Theme Icon

So all in all, with a People’s Pool, a People’s Zoo and a People’s School, things were going well in the old graveyard. The same, however, could not be said of the Duniya.

Related Characters: Anjum / Aftab, Tilo, Zainab

Page Number and Citation: 405

Explanation and Analysis:

Zainab Character Timeline in The Ministry of Utmost Happiness

The timeline below shows where the character Zainab appears in The Ministry of Utmost Happiness. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

Gender Identity, Social Division, and Coexistence Theme Icon

Social Hierarchy vs. Social Inclusivity Theme Icon

...she does, but she fantasizes about living in her own home, being a mother to Zainab, and living “like an ordinary person.” She wonders, though, if a life like that is... (full context)

Zainab is the person Anjum loves most in this world, whom she finds one day, an... (full context)

Unfamiliar with the rites of motherhood, Anjum spoils Zainab at first. Discovering Zainab’s love for animals, Anjum gifts her a baby goat. When Zainab... (full context)

When Zainab turns five, Anjum takes her to have singing lessons with Ustad Hameed, her old music... (full context)

In addition to possibly hexing Zainab, Saeeda has also stolen Anjum’s spot as the most famous Hijra in Delhi. Her modern... (full context)

One day, Anjum hears commotion in the Khwabgah and, fearing the worst, runs downstairs with Zainab. What she discovers is that the two commercial airlines have crashed into tall buildings in... (full context)

...that “all the prisons [are] full of young Muslim men” and “thank[s] the Almighty that Zainab [is] a girl. It [is] so much safer.” Meanwhile, Zainab’s health does not improve, and... (full context)

...and, for the first three days, Anjum calls the Khwabgah every day to check on Zainab. After the third day, the residents don’t hear from her, but they do see on... (full context)

...men’s clothing and with a short haircut—and brings her back home. After hugging a delighted Zainab, the first thing Anjum does upon returning to the Khwabgah is change into her preferred... (full context)

Anjum’s strange mood lasts for many weeks. She teaches Zainab a strange chant that nobody knows—the Gayatri Mantra, that she learned in the refugee camp... (full context)

Ustad Kulsoom Bi does not like what Anjum has done with Zainab, and calls an emergency meeting. She speaks proudly of the history of the Khwabgah, reminding... (full context)

...castrate young boys. In keeping with the principle of consent, she says, Anjum cannot oblige Zainab to present as a boy, even if she thinks it makes her safer. (full context)

Anjum protests, insisting that Zainab is her child and she will do as she pleases with her, threatening to leave... (full context)

...collection of photographs and articles of her that she has collected over the years, scaring Zainab so much that she moves all her things to Saeeda’s room. Heartbroken, Anjum packs a... (full context)

...he visits, he brings her a cell phone, which she doesn’t use. Eventually, Saeeda brings Zainab a few times, Ustad Kulsoom Bi visits and gives Anjum an allowance from the Khwabgah,... (full context)

...a real house, painting the walls fuchsia and even building a little kitchen. Saeeda and Zainab begin to visit again, and although Anjum is devastated at the permanent wound in their... (full context)

...their dog, to enjoy some tea. She begins to tell Saddam the “Flyover Story” that Zainab had loved when she was a little girl, and, suddenly, has the realization that she... (full context)

...is waiting. She has set up a party to welcome Tilo and the baby, and Zainab, Nimmo, Imam Ziauddin, and Ustad Hameed are all awaiting the arrival of the baby and... (full context)

...giving singing lessons to promising students there, which Anjum attends (although she refuses to sing). Zainab comes around often to help Anjum and Tilo look after Miss Jebeen the Second, and,... (full context)

Shortly after on Independence Day, Anjum and Saddam Hussain are watching TV when they hear Zainab screaming from outside. She is terrified of what she sees in front of her: a... (full context)

...Saddam Hussain a boost of confidence, and he decides that night to ask Anjum for Zainab’s hand in marriage. Anjum responds sassily, asking him why Zainab should marry a man “wanting... (full context)

...to take the entire family on a surprise outing. So he, Anjum, Tilo, Nimmo, Saeeda, Zainab, and Miss Jebeen the Second all set out together and head to a wealthy part... (full context)

...nice shirt from the mall to represent his spirit to bury in the old graveyard. Zainab, remembering the Gayatri mantra Anjum had taught her when she was a child, offers to... (full context)

Saddam Hussain and Zainab are soon married at a party where all of Jannat Guest House’s community members are... (full context)