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In Mohja Kahf’s novel ,The Girl in the Tangerine Scarf, she writes about religious bias, behavioral, and gender issues Khadra faces. The story follows Khadra from a young age and portrays all her struggles she comes across as she grows up. Kahf does a great job at showing Khadra’s hardships and successes. The story is filled with many obstacles people face everyday. Kahf's novel is very agreeable because she is honest about the conflicts and makes each and every issue relatable to the audience in some way.

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The different religions in America separated Khadra’s family from others. Being Muslim made them stand out among others and made them vulnerable. One family's sons chased Khadra and other Muslim children around saying horrible things like “fuck you raghead...we’re gonna get all you fuckers” (5). Khadra and her family were mocked, called names and glared at. Humans should be open to new people despite their race and religion. Khadra's family should not have been bullied and singled out due to their religion. Her Aunt Teta is a prime example of a Muslim being singled out among others. Teta would come to America to see her family but had a hard time getting home. She would be pulled aside and interrogated like a criminal just for coming to America and seeing Wajdy. After a while Teta couldn’t take it any more. For Khadra’s wedding “Teta made an exceptional, and possibly final, trip to America”(208). People should not be singled out and pulled aside due to their religion. The should not be discriminated whether it be in America or Syria itself. They are people just like everyone else and should be treated with the same respect.

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Khadra is a very stubborn person. Due to her religion her parents are pretty strict with her. She is not aloud to do a lot because many things that Americans do is haram. She wasn’t allowed to do sleep overs, have a dog, or eat certain foods that had pig in it. At first Khadra handled it, but as she became older she began to rebel and push back. It began when she started wearing hijab. Khadra began wearing “black headscarves with a surge of righteous austerity that startled her parents”(149). Khadra's parents were very narrow minded and were not open to new things even if some part of their religion said it was okay. Luckily the black hijab was just a phase and she moved on. Her biggest rebellious move was getting an abortion. It made her parents not talk to her and caused her and her husband to get a divorce. She tried hard to be okay with a baby she told Juma that “she had prayed Consultation on it three times and was set and determined”(248). So she did it. Khadra should have had the right to her own body and not had to go against everyone to get what she wanted. She shouldn't have been looked at as the worst person ever. These were some struggles Khadra had to face while growing up.

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An issue which Khadra struggles with gravely is the fact that the society around  her is very sexist. Men are looked at as superior to women. In America Khadra was taught that all men and women prayed together but in her home country her father told her “women are not allowed to pray in the mosque” (167). Khadra was devastated because all she wanted to do was pray. Women should not have to stay home and pray they should have the same privileges and be able to go to the mosque. This was not the only thing Khadra was unable to do due to her being a girl. Her father took her to Mauritania sheikh where men disapproved of her being there, but she was allowed to stay anyways. During the time she was there Tayiba the leader of the group announced a contest for whoever could recite the Maryam sura. Khadra worked so hard to memorize every last word, but when she turned it in, Tayiba informed her “there's been some misunderstanding...i'm afraid-- it is not open to women” (199). She was not allowed to compete and she stopped being able to recite the Quran in front of men. Men and women should be equally treated. It's not fair that men are able to be religious and show the world but women have to hide at home and stay quiet in society. This is a huge struggle for Khadra because she is very religious and very intelligent.

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Khadra's struggles were very real and personal to the audience because we have all been through some sort of similar issues as her. Racism, sexism, and rebelling are very real and current topics happening everyday. Kahf creates a strong story through the truth and details about these subjects.

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Kahf, Mohja. The Girl In The Tangerine Scarf: New York : Public Affairs, 2006.

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Madlyn Bogus
Joan Wegner
ENG 111-25/26
31 October 2018