In the foregoing episode of “The Exchange,” Farida and her cousin Munira worked together to get more information on the Kazima shipping. This information had been beneficial for both the ladies since Farida wanted to pay her daughter Jude’s school fees while Munira wanted to become the Portfolio Manager at work. Both the ladies were subject to discrimination and ignorance as their own family disparaged their abilities and belittled them for all their talents. Farida just got divorced from her self-entitled husband Omar, who refused to even pay for Jude’s fees. In the end, Farida managed to get a job at the Kuwait Stock Exchange by trading information with Amir, Yara’s husband, who carved the wooden sculpture at the auction. Now, Munira wasn’t the only lady to work in the stock exchange, as Farida would accompany her throughout the whole journey.
“The Exchange” Episode 2 gives a glimpse into the discrimination that Munira had to face from her family. Despite her achievements, her family always praised the other men and disregarded her emotions. It was pretty clear that Munira had accepted this discrimination as a driving motivation for herself. On the other hand, Jude attended public school under Omar’s command, but the other students were disrespectful towards Jude, and she couldn’t deal with it. Jude was used to her private school, and things were becoming more and more difficult every day. Jude had to hide in the restroom to protect herself from the bullies around her. Farida had no choice but to agree to Omar’s terms; otherwise, Jude wouldn’t be able to attend school anymore. Farida couldn’t balance anything, and her decisions affected Jude’s well-being. Jude was completely heartbroken, but despite all the problems, she never opposed her parents’ wishes.
Spoilers Ahead
Caught Up In The Man’s World
Back at Farida’s workplace, the men around her started objectifying her because of her clothes and looks. The show depicted how the men only considered Farida and Munira as objects of beauty and not as competitors at work. A high level of sexist behavior had been observed by both women, as people wouldn’t even sell their shares to them. Moreover, the company didn’t have a public restroom for women either. Farida’s coworkers pushed her to do the difficult work, and they kept the profits for themselves. Amongst all these men, Saud was the only understanding one and never discriminated between women and men. He had respected Munira for her capabilities and continued to support her. She was upset with Farida’s presence in the company because Nabil, the stockbroker, refused to trade stocks with two women at a time. He hated dealing with women, and now Munira couldn’t persuade him to sell her the stocks. But Saud promised to help Munira since Nabil wouldn’t compromise a loss in his business because disrespecting Saud’s employees might pose a risk on his alliance with the Bank of Tomorrow. Munira was extremely tenacious about her wishes, and she always stood up for her needs and made sure that she was heard by the spineless men around her. Just like Saud, Khalifa had been helping Farida with her job. He showed her a way to impress Nabil since he was fond of Iranian pistachios.
Even though they were competing, Khalifa helped Farida claim her space in the company. That night, Farida failed to notice that Jude had been suffering from bullying. Farida’s head was completely wrapped around her new job, but Jude didn’t share anything either and confided in her grandfather instead. Jude realized that she needed to be strong to face her bullies, and that was her only way to face the cruel students around her. Even though Jude struggled with her father’s decisions, she had to find a way to succeed. Meanwhile, things began to work out for Farida since she gifted Nabil the Iranian pistachios. The men around them were waiting to be pleased, and that’s how Farida managed to win 5500 shares at 12.7 Dinars. Again, Munira planned on competing with her sister and managed to convince Nabil with Saud’s help. She bought the shares at 12.2 Dinars, and Farida did not appreciate that. Farida was already frustrated since Hassan and Walid pranked her to find the clearing house keys, but Khalifa helped her.
All this time, Farida didn’t realize that Jude got caught up in a huge fight and ended up getting injured. Adib realized that he had failed to guide his daughter throughout their 13 years of marriage. Farida had suffered in silence, and now he didn’t want his granddaughter to experience the same. Farida failed to understand that Khalifa was using her to retrieve information about their department. Meanwhile, things began to escalate between Saud and Munira; she managed to gain more importance around her coworkers because she negotiated with Nabil, but at the same time, Farida struggled with the same. She wanted Saud and Amir to consider women’s importance in the company and establish a restroom for them. But they disregarded her requests and made fun of her. That’s when Farida realized that she was caught up in a man’s world, and no matter what, she had to depend on the authorities to thrive in the company. On the other hand, Munira had complete awareness of her surroundings, which pleased her subordinates. The 1980s had been difficult for women since they were often judged based on their gender, and society believed that women belonged in the kitchen and that their duties were limited to being mothers and wives.
Even though the world hasn’t changed much today, Farida and Munira are examples of such women who have struggled their way into creating a strong threshold of their identity, and the first two episodes certainly show that despite all the problems, Munira and Farida had been failing to support each other. They competed just like the men did, and if they figured out these differences, their strength would be unmatched.
