Take It Back

Am I supposed to put my religion ahead of the fact that I’m a woman? Do I owe more loyalty to Islam than a girl who has been victimised?
...
Can’t you see, Mum? Oppression doesn’t spread through men with guns, or bombs on trains. Oppression spreads when women like you tell their daughters to marry a certain man, or wear a certain dress, or work a certain job. It happens when women like you tell us – gently and with all the love in the world – not to peek above the parapet, instead to stay at home,

Am I supposed to put my religion ahead of the fact that I’m a woman? Do I owe more loyalty to Islam than a girl who has been victimised?
...
Can’t you see, Mum? Oppression doesn’t spread through men with guns, or bombs on trains. Oppression spreads when women like you tell their daughters to marry a certain man, or wear a certain dress, or work a certain job. It happens when women like you tell us – gently and with all the love in the world – not to peek above the parapet, instead to stay at home, to be quiet, to be kind, to be good.

*Spoiler*

There's an antipathy that underlies some aspects of this story which in and of itself diminishes the impact of the main subject matter: rape.

Undoubtedly, Rape is a harrowing & dehumanizing incident but when conflated with religion, an already tense situation is amplified. Abdullah was about as subtle as a sledgehammer re her disdain for Muslim men and this story suffers due to the overt prejudice and misandry that permeates almost every page.

We're introduced to, Jodie, the alleged rape

*Spoiler*

There's an antipathy that underlies some aspects of this story which in and of itself diminishes the impact of the main subject matter: rape.

Undoubtedly, Rape is a harrowing & dehumanizing incident but when conflated with religion, an already tense situation is amplified. Abdullah was about as subtle as a sledgehammer re her disdain for Muslim men and this story suffers due to the overt prejudice and misandry that permeates almost every page.

We're introduced to, Jodie, the alleged rape victim and to our protagonist, Zara, a lawyer who works at a centre that provides legal counsel to rape victims. Jodie claims she was raped by four young Muslim men: Amir Rabbani, Hassan Tanweer, Mohammed Ahmed, and Farid Khan.

I should mention that Zara Kaleel is also Muslim although she'd long become disillusioned and disdainful of her culture and if we're to believe her, there are only two tribes of Muslim women of which she ensures to inform the reader that she's neither: the "docile housewife with Tumeric stained hands" and the "rebel who uses her sexuality to subvert her culture".
She being the college-educated, high flying lawyer-turned-activist who wears Piaget watches and carries Celine bags. I scoffed loudly and shook my head at this load of self-loathing disguised as enlightenment.

Anyway, back to Jodie. As if the plot wasn't explosive enough, we learn she has a severe facial disfigurement and has had to endure years of abuse both at school and home and understandably, she's a loner.

Once the trial starts, the powder-keg that is race/religion explodes; Zara is vilified for daring to represent a White woman while her life, as well as a penchant for dating White men, are splayed all over the News; meanwhile, the boys are subjected to hate crimes.

With heightened race tensions, the case plods along unconvincingly; furthermore, we discover that the victim and her accusers had told several lies. Who is telling the truth? Is Jodie a vindictive scorned girl or are the boys sociopaths?

Abdullah eventually pulls the "plot twist" at the last hour when a cell phone recording of the entire incident is conveniently found which then completely exonerates the boys.

Or did it?

Sigh. All in all, I would have given this a higher rating had the author not pulled another twist, and on the very last page no less, seemingly out of thin air. All it did was create a huge plot hole that made the reader question why Jodie would recant her accusations even though she knew she'd been truthful all along?!!! It made no sense. None.

"Oppression spreads when women like you tell their daughters to marry a certain man, or wear a certain dress, or work a certain job. It happens when women like you tell us - gently and with all the love in the word - not to peek above the parapet, instead to stay at home, to be quiet, to be kind, to be good."