Daughter of the Wind by Suzanne Fisher Staples
Shabanu, you are as wild as the wind. You must learn to obey. Shabanu lives with her family in Pakistan's Cholistan Desert, in a society that denies women any form of independence. At twelve years old, Shabanu is already betrothed, while her sister Phulan, a year older, is about to be married. Then tragedy strikes and Shabanu is faced with a decision that will change her life for ever - she must choose between the strength of her own dreams of freedom and her obligation to her family and culture...