Comparative Writing: Home fire – Yuman Al-Arashi

It is quite evident that Yuman Al-Arashi and Kamila Shamsie both have the same goals of publishing thought-provoking texts regard the culture of Islam. The real crossover between the two is the image of a woman with a hijab. We see this in the scene of Homefire when Eamonn and Aneeka are in the bedroom. Eamonn refers to it as an “unfamiliar situation” yet it is merely another item of clothing. This stigma regarding “the hijab” is also prominent in Yuman Al-Arashi’s body of work where she takes photos of powerful-looking women in different settings. In one of her pieces of work, she is seen to be a tall, prominent figure, looking tall and powerful. Yuman’s general theme across her photos is to depict Islamic women as dominant rather than submissive. Fa=urethermore, the idea of women being by themselves in her photos allow for her to promote the independence of the women and the idea that they don’t have to rely on a man. In Homefire, Kamila Shamsie chooses to show the empowerment of women through the perspective of Eamonn, specifically in chapter 3 with Aneeka, she takes the frist steps by taking the hand of Eamonn and places in on her breast. Furthermore the fact that she uses a bath mat as a praying mat, it amplifies her devotion and morality to her religion.