Male Fatima
(Firihen Faathuma)

In a land where women were regarded as frail

And walked with the pace of a slow snail,

The fishing skills of "Fatima the Male"

Were akin to the fury of a tropical gale.

Author’s Annotation: Firihen Faathuma or "Masculine Fatima" was another of Malé’s characters of Abdul Rasheed’s childhood. She was probably a lesbian and preferred to do the work normally done by men. She went fishing and reputedly built her own house. Her eccentricity and strength of personality saved her from persecution. Firihen Faathuma died in the early 1970’s.