Forced into marriage, a thirteen year old Iraqi girl battles with her femininity in search for freedom.

Niloofar is a twelve-year-old girl whose dream is to read and write, but she lives in a village where education is only for boys. Her mother, a well-known midwife, insists that Niloofar become her apprentice. While assisting her mother during a delivery, Niloofar meets a feminist woman who undertakes to teach her in secret. Unfortunately, in exchange of a palm tree field, Niloofar's father promises her in marriage to an older man once she becomes a woman. Horrified by this notion, Niloofar does everything in her power to postpone her first periods. Eventually, the inevitable occurs. HOwever, Niloofar, who is determined to keep her freedom as long as possible, arranges to conceal the fact from her family for another two years until the truth can no longer be hidden. Then, rather than live in a marriage without love, Niloofar runs away with her friend. Shocked, her family considers itself dishonored and sends her step-brother to track her down.—Sabine El Gemayel