Bibi jo

Bibi jo is a rotund, elderly woman from Gul Daman whose late husband was a stone carver and a friend of Nana's father. She is a recurring visitor to the kolba where Mariam and Nana live, invariably accompanied by one of her six daughters-in-law and a grandchild or two. She limps and huffs her way across the clearing, making a great show of rubbing her hip and lowering herself with a pained sigh onto the chair Nana pulls up for her. Bibi jo always brings Mariam something, a box of dishlemeh candy or a basket of quinces. For Nana, she first brings complaints about her failing health, and then gossip from Herat and Gul Daman, delivered at length and with gusto, as her daughter-in-law sits listening quietly and dutifully behind her.

Role in Mariam's Life

Bibi jo is a source of news from the outside world for Mariam and Nana. It is Bibi jo who brings the news that Jalil's daughters Saideh and Naheed are attending the Mehri School for girls in Herat, a piece of information that sparks Mariam's desire to go to school. She also brings word that Jalil's youngest wife, Nargis, is expecting her third child, a detail Nana uses to needle Jalil during his Thursday visits.

Comfort After Nana's Death

After Nana's suicide, Bibi jo visits Mariam at Jalil's house. She lowers her large body onto the chair beside Mariam's bed, grimacing, and says, "This rain, Mariam jo, it's murder on my hips. Just murder, I tell you. I hope…Oh, now, come here, child. Come here to Bibi jo. Don't cry. There, now. You poor thing. Ask You poor, poor thing." This visit, though brief, is one of the few gestures of comfort Mariam receives in the immediate aftermath of her mother's death, alongside the support of Mullah Faizullah.