Leila Ahmed's memoir--of her childhood on "the remote edge of Cairo"; of young adulthood at Girton College, Cambridge; of adulthood in Abu Dhabi, leading to a career in women's studies in New England--is an arresting piece of work. It reconstructs the past and its effect on the present like a song, not linear but circular, with repetition and emphasis. Themes are referred to, then referenced in context, so we proceed not quite chronologically, but almost spiritually.
With an intensity that takes one by surprise, Ahmed recounts childhood damage stemming from a society deeply afraid for its girl children and entrenched in familial honor, while poised
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