The anti-father
Because he agrees with the cultural narrative that exists in this area around women and marriage, Samya's own father isn't much help to her. In fact, he symbolizes the lack of help available to women in her culture. Because he is her father, he can be seen as a symbol for the patriarchy, and although the father isn't necessarily cruel to her directly, he quickly marries her off to someone who does beat her. He represents the injustice of gender roles in Egyptian culture.
Infertility
There are several reasons why a healthy woman might not be able to conceive, but there are also plenty of ways the man might be responsible as well, but that never comes up. The assumption is that if the couple can't make babies, she is to blame. This symbolizes the painful assumptions that shape the prejudice around Samya. People treat her as if she is morally culpable, as if she hates the idea of having children and intentionally chose not to; in reality, she is just one of the many women for whom pregnancy is challenging.
Ownership and property
Through motif, the narrative shows that the man in Samya's marriage is possessive and object-oriented. He treats his wife through this orientation, dehumanizing her in his perception. He behaves with her as if she were livestock, and then mistreats her because he doesn't feel love toward her. Of course how could he feel love for someone he has reduced to such a low station in his mind. He pretends that she is his property, and then abuses her.
The daughter
The daughter can be seen as a symbolic reference to hope. If the daughter survives, she will go on to live a new life, meaning that perhaps she might escape this hostile environment and make a better life for herself. When the girl dies at age six, that is shown to be a pivotal moment in the mother's relationship to hope. The child has no future, and neither does the mother. The daughter's death is a symbolic reminder that the culture mistreats women.
The murder
The only way for Samya to attain freedom is to escape the world she lives in. Although she could have escaped the marriage some other way, she chooses to murder her husband in rage, becoming an archetypal symbol for the hatred that permeated their marriage. She proves that there was enough suffering for divine judgment against her husband and his patriarchal dominion, and his hatred against women. Although the novel is not encouraging murder, it does demonstrate the existential agony of oppression and injustice.
