Iqbal

64 pages • 2 hours read

Iqbal

Fiction | Novel | YA | Published in 2001

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Introduction

Before Reading

During Reading

After Reading

During Reading

Reading Questions & Paired Texts

Reading Check and Short Answer questions on key points are designed for guided reading assignments, in-class review, formative assessment, quizzes, and more.

CHAPTERS 1-3

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Reading Check

1. Why are Fatima and the other children “bonded to Hussein Khan” (Chapter 1)?

2. According to Fatima, how does a child become free?

3. Why does Fatima focus on the window of the bathroom each morning?

4. Which “luxury” did Karim have the opportunity of attending?

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Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. Describe Fatima’s musings about her dreams. What does Fatima’s grandmother say is the worst type of situation to have?

2. Who are the “numskulls”? What are their working and living conditions?

3. What are Fatima’s initial impressions of Iqbal? How do the children respond to his presence?

4. Summarize Iqbal’s narrative that he shares with the other children. What provocative assertion does he make, and how do the other children respond?

CHAPTERS 4-7

Reading Check

1. Which child remains “untouched by Hussain's storm of threats” (Chapter 4)?

2. What does Iqbal tell Fatima that he does every night?

3. By what term does Hussain reference the children in front of the foreigners?

4. What does Iqbal plan to do with Fatima in the future?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. What is Karim’s background? How does his story unnerve some of the children?

2. What is a Blue Bukhara? Why is this object of great value?

3. What action does Iqbal do out of defiance? How does Hussain respond?

4. What do the children convince Karim to do? What action as a group do they resolve to carry out?

Paired Resource

“Pakistan Child Labor Under Spotlight”

This 2-minute Al-Jazeera video focuses on the reality of child labor in Pakistan.
The information in this video connects with the themes Coming Together to Escape Oppression, The Power of Corruption, and The Economic Impact of Forced Child Labor.
In what ways does Pakistan depend on child labor for the economy? What steps are being taken to address this issue?

CHAPTERS 8-10

Reading Check

1. What does Maria know how to do that the other children do not?

2. What are the two obstacles keeping the children from finding and meeting with the Liberation Front?

3. What does Iqbal do during the brawl at lunch?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. Where does Iqbal escape to? What is his plan and what is the outcome of the situation?

2. What design does Maria secretly weave on her carpet? Describe the subsequent scene between Hussain and the other children.

3. What is the Liberation Front? Describe how Iqbal encounters this organization and what he plans to ask the members.

Paired Resources

“Police Ranked Most Corrupt Institution in Pakistan: Transparency Survey”

Pakistan Today posted this 2022 article on police corruption in the country.
This article connects with the themes The Power of Corruption and The Economic Impact of Forced Child Labor.
Based on the text as well as the above resource, how does police corruption affect the lives of Pakistanis?

“Bonded Labor Liberation Front Pakistan (BLLF)”

This site for the BLLF serves as an overview of their work in Pakistan.
The information available on this site connects with the themes Coming Together to Escape Oppression, The Power of Corruption, and The Economic Impact of Forced Child Labor.
Describe the meaning of “bonded labor” and the steps that the BLLF takes to eradicate this issue in Pakistan.

CHAPTERS 11-15

Reading Check

1. Where do the children go after they are freed from Hussain?

2. What activity do Fatima, Iqbal, and Maria do together?

3. Who does Iqbal believe is “to blame for everything” (Chapter 12)?

4. What prize does Iqbal win?

5. What shocking information does Fatima learn about her family?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. Who is Eshan Khan? How does he change Fatima’s perspective of the world?

2. What “solemn declaration” does Iqbal make? Describe how this declaration leads to his next actions.

3. Who are “they,” according to Fatima? How does Fatima link the presence of “they” with Iqbal’s fight against child labor?

4. Summarize Iqbal’s experience at the brick factory. What does he see and how does this shape his work?

5. What news does Maria write to Fatima? How does this information shape Maria’s future plans?

Paired Resources

“Iqbal’s Story”

The World’s Children’s Prize Foundation offers this overview of the life and assassination of the real Iqbal. This resource might be used in conjunction with the first Full Essay Assignment.
The themes Coming Together to Escape Oppression, The Power of Corruption, and The Economic Impact of Forced Child Labor can be discussed in connection with this true story.
Based on this resource, why was Iqbal forced to work as a child and what were the conditions of his employment?

“Young Activist’s Death Hits Pakistani Carpet Sales”

This Los Angeles Times 1995 article discusses the effect of Iqbal’s death on Pakistan’s carpet industry.
This article connects with the themes Coming Together to Escape Oppression, The Power of Corruption, and The Economic Impact of Forced Child Labor.
How did Iqbal’s death adversely affect the Pakistani carpet industry?

Recommended Next Reads

Oh, Freedom! by Francesco D’Adamo

D’Adamo’s 2016 novel follows protagonist Tommy and his family as they follow the Underground Railroad from the US to Canada.
Connected themes include Coming Together to Escape Oppression and The Power of Corruption.
Shared topics include fighting oppressive systems and child protagonists.

The Breadwinner by Deborah Ellis

Ellis’s 2000 novel centers on protagonist’s Parvana’s journey as she navigates the oppressive lifestyle in a Taliban-led Afghanistan.
Connected themes include Coming Together to Escape Oppression and The Power of Corruption.
Shared topics include children leading resistance movements, female protagonists, and political instability in the Middle East and South Asian continent.
The Breadwinner on SuperSummary

Reading Questions Answer Key

CHAPTERS 1-3

Reading Check

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1. “[T]o pay off debts [their] families had contracted with local moneylenders” (Chapter 1)

2. To become free, Fatima says she and the other children must “work very hard and very fast, to erase each and every line on our small slates, until there were none left and we could return home.” (Chapter 1)

3. She considers escaping through the window in the bathroom each morning. (Chapter 1)

4. The cinema (Chapter 2)

Short Answer

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1. Each morning before work, Fatima and her friends discuss their dreams from the previous night. Fatima remembers how her mother and grandmother said that “dreams come from an unknown area of heaven” and often cause different emotions; however, the worst situation is to not have any dreams. (Chapter 1)

2. The “numskulls” are the children who “worked slowly and poorly.” These children are chained by their workstation, and frequently make mistakes in the work, or cry or complain too loudly. (Chapter 1)

3. Fatima notes that Iqbal has eyes which are “sweet and deep and they weren't afraid.” She also notes that he seems “different” than the other children who “had come and gone over the years” since he was not “afraid.” (Chapter 2)

4. At the end of his first day, Iqbal tells the children the story of how he was sold into slavery; since his family could not afford the medicine to save his older brother, they had to borrow money in order to save his brother and maintain their land. After the children share similar stories, Iqbal asserts that the lines are never erased and the debts never repaid, and that the only chance for freedom is to escape. (Chapter 3)

CHAPTERS 4-7

Reading Check

1. Iqbal (Chapter 4)

2. Iqbal tells Fatima that he reviews his memories every night so he does not forget them. (Chapter 4)

3. “[A]pprentices” (Chapter 5)

4. Iqbal plans to fly a kite with Fatima the following spring. (Chapter 7)

Short Answer

1. Karim, who is Hussain’s assistant, was sold to the master’s house at age 7. The children are mindful that their future will be similar to Karim’s if they are unable to repay their debts. (Chapter 4)

2. A Blue Bukhara is an extremely rare type of rug. Karim notes that only “artists” can make such a rug. This is why Iqbal, who is capable of the skill required for the Blue Bukhara, is so important. (Chapter 4)

3. On the day of the foreigners’ visit, Iqbal slices through his well-made Blue Bukhara carpet with a knife. Hussain and the mistress are hysterical with rage and throw him in “The Tomb.” (Chapter 5)

4. After Iqbal is placed in “the Tomb,” the children convince Karim to unlock the door in the evenings so they can bring food and water to Iqbal. Although they are almost caught, they resolve to visit Iqbal every night until he is released. (Chapter 6)

CHAPTERS 8-10

Reading Check

1. Read (Chapter 9)

2. Reading the flier and locating the address (Chapter 10)

3. He escapes. (Chapter 10)

Short Answer

1. After Iqbal escapes from Hussain’s factory, he returns a few days later with two policemen. Although Iqbal intends on accusing Hussain of forced child labor, Hussain successfully bribes the officers, and they turn Iqbal over to him. (Chapter 8)

2. Maria deviates from the pattern of the carpet and weaves a kite onto her carpet, presumably inspired from listening to Fatima’s description. Hussain is enraged and orders her to the Tomb; however, after several children also insist they be sent to the Tomb with her out of solidarity, Hussain relinquishes his order. A few days later Iqbal is released again. (Chapter 8)

3. After running away from Hussain’s, Iqbal briefly works at a market with other children, where he sees a political group called the Bonded Labor Liberation Front (BLLF) of Pakistan who are advocating for an end to child labor. Iqbal’s initial attempt for the police to help him failed; however, he resolves to get the attention of the BLLF by asking them for help. (Chapter 9)

CHAPTERS 11-15

Reading Check

1. The headquarters of the Bonded Labor Liberation Front of Pakistan (Chapter 11)

2. Fly a kite (Chapter 11)

3. “[T]he moneylenders” (Chapter 12)

4. Reebok’s annual Youth in Action Award (Chapter 14)

5. That her mother has died and her brother, as the head of the household, wants to move to Europe (Chapter 14)

Short Answer

1. Eshan Khan is the leader of the BLLF and the man who secures the freedom for the children. Fatima recalls how Eshan introduces a new perspective to life, which goes against the belief “that being chained to a loom was part of the natural order.” (Chapter 11)

2. Iqbal makes the following announcement to the members of the BLLF: “I want to stay and help you free all the children who are slaves in Pakistan.” He then works to help the BLLF by infiltrating factories and helping children escape. (Chapter 12)

3. Fatima uses the word “They” to describe the people in power who further the corruption and unjust practices against children. Fatima recalls that the more that Iqbal speaks out against child labor, the closer that “they” come to harming him and the BLLF cause. (Chapter 12)

4. Iqbal and Eshan visit a brick factory, where both the families and the children live and work in miserable conditions. Furthermore, although they are paid well, the families reveal that they must pay high prices for their housing and food, ultimately leaving them with no savings to pay off their other debts, and therefore carrying the debt through the generations. As a result, Iqbal is deeply affected by what he has seen. (Chapter 13)

5. In Maria’s final letter to Fatima, she informs Fatima that Iqbal was murdered by unknown assassins while visiting his village. Maria vows to continue the work of Iqbal by becoming a lawyer. (Chapter 15)