A Border Passage

Leila Ahmed
 About the Author
● Born in 1940, Leila Ahmed began her childhood in a modest villa with an expansive garden at the
outskirts of Cairo.
● In 1952, a revolution brought Gamal Abdel Nasser to power in Egypt, ushering in an era of Arab
nationalism. For Ahmed, this meant upheaval in her family life. Her father lost his job because of his
opposition to Nasser’s Aswan High Dam project.
● BA, MA, PhD, University of Cambridge
● Prior to her appointment at HDS, Ahmed was professor of women's studies and Near Eastern studies at
the University of Massachusetts-Amherst. While at the University of Massachusetts, she was director of
the women's studies program from 1992 to 1995 and director of the Near Eastern studies program from
1991 to 1992.
● Leila Ahmed came to the Divinity School in 1999 as the first professor of women's studies in religion
and was appointed to the Victor S. Thomas chair in 2003. She became the Victor S. Thomas Research
Professor of Divinity in 2020.
● Her current research and writing interests include Islam and gender in America, and issues of gender,
race, and class in the Middle East in the late colonial era.
About the Book
A Border Passage
● Published by Penguin Books | jun 5, 2000
● Autobiographical fiction
● The author telling the accounts in first person.

Themes include:

● Two Islams- Authoritarian written tradition split with modern oral traditions causing abuse of
political power and unpleasant interpretations of Islam being used as fuel for facist religious
leaders. Similar to the other text weve read the battle of identity and modernity vs. tradition.
● Internalized colonialism consciousness- Understanding where and by whose authority you are
made able to be successful. Wanting change if it means you are able to progress even if it
requires leaving homelands and acquiring new traditions.
Ch. 2
● Internalized Colonialism is recognized by the author and her peers as they look to their elders as
an example of how their traditions led to successful individuals. Understanding that influence
from elsewhere though enticing, is not necessary to maintain a strong society. However, even
with the recognition of their culture being respectable they still find the culture of those
colonizing their homeland to be ideal. Independence without losing the culture of those who
they wish to be free from.

Her father facing difficulties in the workplace led them to move for him to be able to provide for the
family. Eventually they are able to return, however her father is unable to gain the education he desires
straight away to become an engineer. Instead he finds a way to go around the British interfering with
Egyptians progressing and eventually moves up the ranks from a geographer to an engineer.

● Tells a story about how at one point relations between the British and Egyptians were once
friendly, after a trial leading to the beating and torture of Egyptian men relations quickly turned
from plesant to anomosity.
Ch. 3
Introduced more heavily to the character of the nanny as she remembers their time together. Her
nanny growing up was a widowed croatian woman with a daughter of her own. She slept in the same
bed as her spent the majority of her time with her away from the rest of the family and even went to an
opposing church with her. Although the nanny did not force her beliefs on Ahmed there were some
disputes between the nanny and Ahmed's mother. The nanny favored men and had a problem with
Ahmed's mother and was not afraid to show it.

Ahmed moved away for her teenage years to obtain an education, leaving the nanny back home.
Her nanny passed away to stomach cancer while she was away causing Ahmed to be quite upset.

Her father unlike the rest of the family favors his daughters openly.

Has difficulty understanding religion as her nanny breaks it down saying all religions follow on
‘God’ and that the values and beliefs of that one ‘God’ change based on what religion you practice.
Ch. 4
Begins with her telling her accounts of her mothers traits and what she thinks made her mom a
upstanding person. Goes into detail about how her mother only kept women and close family in her
company.
Tells how she was sexually assaulted by a neighboring boy when she was 9 years old.
Explains how her mother although presented with the facts that Ahmed did nothing wrong and
was the victim in this situation her mother punishes her and goes as far as taking her to the
gynecologist for and examinations to make sure she was still “pure”. Calls the events ‘the end of her
childhood’.
Her mother has negative energy towards her. She believes her mother wishes she would never
have lived. Her mother even goes as far to say that if she'd have known what Ahmed was going to be
like she wouldn't have wanted her dead. Her mothers spirit wants release from the toxic relationship
they had during her lifetime.
Critique
The description of her nannies distaste for women-

I found it improvident of the character of the nanny and the real life individual that the
character embodies to hold women at a lower standard than men. Being a woman herself it is
hypocritical and derogatory to be openly against women in a sense.

Additionally, the situation described where her father was unable to get an education in a certain
field for worries that Egyptian people would then take over what the British could control having the
knowledge. Having to leave and come back and go a round about way to obtain the information to
become a engineer is a misuse of capabilities and intellectual resources.

I understand the author has no control over either circumstance, however, the fact that either
occurred is something I find wrong and see flaws as the story develops.
 The Politician
There is a tv series on Netflix that isn't about
Egyptian culture or religious/ traditional customs.
However, it does have two characters that
interact similarly to the Mother and Ahmed in A
Border Passage. The grandmother in the show
“The politician” poisons and makes the
granddaughter believe she has a later stage
cancer diagnosis. The grandmother in the show
may not have intended on killing the
granddaughter, but her actions speak volumes to
the amount that she cares about her
granddaughter. I see the mother in A Border
Passage in the same light, she has no regard for
her daughters life in the beginning of it and it
carries on throughout as her daughter grows up.
Another similarity is both the Grandmothers and
the Mothers character apologies and plead for
forgiveness in the end.
Discussion Questions
● When the author thinks back, do you agree with the actions of the
nanny when taking Ahmed to her church, did she have good
intentions? or would you say the slightest glimpse of another belief
system at a young age against the parents wishes could skew the
impressionable girls views on religion?
● Do you think her mothers cold shoulder approach to parenting
her led to her father favoring her over the rest of his children?
● Are her mothers actions warranted in the case of Ahmed
having been sexually assaulted? Even if in her mind it is to
protect her and her future.