Ah, the gentler sex. They need to be protected by big strong men, and by religious rules so that those big strong men won't defile them. Or not. Even the women who believe in tradition in Midnight's Children are not very good at following it. They work when they aren't supposed to, they save people who they shouldn't even be speaking to, and they expose their faces and feet when they aren't supposed to. Some might also say that they are the most powerful characters in the novel. The Widow certainly has the most lasting impact, but we won't spoil the ending for you.