Leila AHmed: From Cairo to Aerica
Leila Ahmed grew up in the 1940's and 50's in a respected and wealthy family in Cairo, Egypt. Her father, an engineer and her mother, a passionate housewife, had shaped her life form the very beginning of her childhood. Her father was a responsible government servant and politically active citizen. His imperturbable stance agianst Nasser, the Egyptian democratic leader turned dictator, led to persecutions that brought havoc and misery to their lives. She lived through the end of colonialism of Egypt, rise of Arab nationalism and the religious transofrmations. A Border Passage is the acoount of her life starting from the Ain Shams, her childhood home, to the University of Massachussettes, Amherst in United States of America. She potrayed her journey thorugh conservative society of the socialist Egypt, in her autobiography in a language that "vividly evokes the lush summers of her Cairo youth and the harsh barrennedd of the Arabian desert." (Ahmed, i) Leila Ahmed's childhood was not limited in playing with rag-dolls and going to school. She was awarded responsibilities from the very beginning of her youth. Her family was pro-active about her future, so she was allowed to pursue her education. For 3 decades Egypt had been a democ
She also states that Clothilde had a strange attachment for blue-eyed chioldren. English was regarded as the superior language and culture in Egypt, even after the Revolution. The feminist inside her rose to the occasion, when she lost someone really close to her. Nasser was adament on building the High Dam over the river Nile. racy, until Egyptian Revolution of 1952 drovve out the governing class. She always declared that she is going to die one day, which is nothing new to young Leila. He preffered the Western ways of life "undervaluing the very heritage that shaped him" (Ahmed, 61) accroding to Leila. But, Nasser, imperturbable form his standpoint, cared less about the ecology. However, when she was graded, her points were intetionally lowered than her Chritian friend, Jean. " (Ahmed, 10) Even the Presidetn himself was worried about this crisis: Were they Arab? They might be African, Niolitic, Mediterranean, Islamic or Coptic. She told Leila that she always wanted to be a writer herself, but the soceity's conservative point-of-views and opprtunities available were not enough. She remembered that for women "religion was an essential part of hopw they made sense of and understood their own lives. She reacalls that she was "haunted by feelings of uncertainity and a sense of ambiguity (about me being an Arab). The corrupted administration under Nasser stretched the simple process of issueing her passport from days to months. She hoped that her daughter would full-fill her wishes byt being a writer.
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Acceptance Essays
