Veiling and unveiling fears in Leila Aboulela’s Minaret

Leila Aboulela’s Minaret presents the life of a young Sudanese woman, who was expelled after a coup in the country. Together with her brother and mother she moves to London. In Sudan she was part of the higher social class but in London, after her mother’s death and her brother’s imprisonment, she needs to work and earn money. She feels endangered by contemporary London realities, lack of financial security, lack of a husband, who in eastern culture takes the role of a protector. She is also overwhelmed with the freedom she unexpectedly has in London. There is also emotional anxiety evoked by something unexplained which appears to be faith. Interestingly, with time the protagonist decides to wear hijab which, in Islamic culture, denotes modesty and surrender to Allah. It turns out that in contemporary London Najwa feels more secure when she is veiled rather than unveiled.