Book Review :- Infidel by Ayaan Hirsi Ali

Infidel is a biography written by a brave Somalian Muslim girl Ayaan Hirsi Ali. It is a story of her tough and challenging life and persistent fight against radical society and extremists of the religion, her search for the true values and belief of the God and her final an extraordinary journey from a meek oppressed young Somalian Muslim girl to the bright, brave and brazen influential Dutch political leader in the West , in Holland where she manages to escape to free herself off .

    Born in Somalia and grew up in 3 different counties Saudi Arabia, Ethiopia and Kenya, Ayaan narrates the social, political, regional details and cultural differences among these 3 different Muslim countries. Her life experiences as a young girl and later as a teenager growing up in these countries unfolds very appalling and horrifying reality about women treated in these countries. They are not only denied the kind, decent living as a human being, but in fact they are treated the worse than animals. With the aid of religion (and Quran), the conservative society enforces the crude, inhumane rules and laws to exploit the women physically and sexually. The women are kept deprived from the education, legal rights, and freedom to the slavery of the men. Young girls married off early denied any freedom to choose their husbands while men can marry any women anytime they wish. In Saudi Arabia where Islam is practiced in its purest form, the society is divided prominently in gender segregation, where women can’t even go out without accompanied by a male escort and always compelled to cover in public head to toe with naqab. The woman who refuses to follow these prescribed etiquette is boycotted and tortured further calling as unethical and unbeliever, an” infidel”. The most horrifying custom performed on young girls especially in Somalia is the genital excision where 5, 6 years old young girls are sewed up on their genitals so that they remains virgin until got married and thus remain “protected”.


    Growing up in all these kind of social surroundings, Aayaan always tries to find the answers of her questions about religion and God. While she studies Islaminc teachings in conventional Islamic schools and takes Quran lessons from Maalim, she tries to find out answers to her questions. Why the rules are different for men and women? Why only women have to cover their skin so that men cannot be disturbed by the feminine shape? Why women cannot pray to God in the same room as men? Ayaan’s father is an influential political leader of Somalia and she shares a very special relationship with him .She admires his political struggle against the Somalian dictator and his less conservative ideology about women rights. Her mother is very strong believer of Islamic ethics and enforces them to her children especially Ayaan and her sister strong heady. Ayaan loves her mother in-spite for her old conservative thinking and her unbearable beatings to her. Very honesty she writes about her fantasy of sex and her attractions to men and her first kiss.


    However, the story of Ayaan is just not the story of the suppression of women, at the same time it is also the story of the courage and strength and her unbelievable transformation from a docile girl to a rebel against her own family, society and the religion. In spite of nothing is nurturing around her , she consistently observes her surroundings, political upheavals ,and makes conscientious efforts to learn the languages like Arabic, Swahili , determined to learn the true Islam and true beliefs of God. When her father marries her off to her distant cousin, Canadian Somalian man she doesn’t know, Aaayan manages to escape from Kenniya and seeks asylum in Holland. Her new struggle starts from there to adopt new culture, and new life in the search of her new true self. Amazed by so well organized country and well disciplined society where first time in her life she sees that men and women mingled freely, freedom seems so unreal to her. Out caste by her family and her clan, declared as an “infidel”, Ayaan sets off on her own path to pursue her dreams of freedom with her new found confidence. With the ambition of making a career in politics, she starts learning the Dutch language, enrolls herself in the vocational school. Finally, this brave heart girl follows her dream, peruses her political degree, works part-time in asylum as a translator and finally enters in the Dutch politics as an elected member of parliament and arises as a young , influential leader to take Muslim women’s plight to the world.


    For me, Ayaan’s story is very inspiring where I learn the lesson of the strength and courage of the women. In a very adverse social conditions, where she was denied a right of living a life as a human being, she collects an enormous pluck to protest against the whole society and free herself off her sufferings. That is the power for a woman, as a human being!!!


    Secondly, after reading the horrifying details of women’s suffering, abuse, pain and misery in the society where men still seek the power as of God and manipulate the whole religion to treat the women as inferiors, I come to realization of my own good fortune of being born in a liberal society, in a liberal country and in a liberal family. I might not have got the best education, the most comfortable luxuries and the ideal childhood but no complaints. I was never treated anything less than a man in my family, and in the society. The doors of opportunities were never shut for me just because I am a woman. In fact I might have got a pinch of extra care and respect and love for being a girl. May be we, the women who has got good education, good families and good life overall always take this as granted.

    
So, In conclusion “infidel “is a 4 and ½ start novel for me and Ayaan is a true heroin. Though it is ugly and dark side, it is an inspiring true story of one woman‘s extraordinary fight.