Week 1 Response: "Chappals and Gym Shorts: An Indian Muslim Woman in the Land Of Oz"

The author portrays an age-old belief set in the Indian-Muslim culture. It would be easy to say, that questioning such a tradition would get one into trouble easily. The author believes that she needs to mix with her friends in the community who are not aware of all these problems. For her to successfully inter-mix in this culture she needs to adapt to their beliefs. The young woman is trying to make a name for her self by doing something out of the box, but she is constantly obliged to follow what she has been taught all the years being brought up. We can easily relate to the fact that it is never easy to adapt a new culture and still follow your own traditions. But a successful person would always try to find a balance between the two concepts. The young woman is constantly judged on her actions. It is not allowed for her to practice most of the Oz traditions. Her father is repeatedly trying to get the young woman to wear a traditional scarf, i.e. “hijab”. But she questions it, as she knows it would make her look odd from all her friends and become a hindering factor in her progress.