Analyse af 'A Memoir of Modest Appearances'

Everyone has at one time, or another wondered how one is seen by other people. Is one's appearance and clothing style prioritized or is it one's personality? In the autobiographical text 'A Memoir of Modest Appearances' (2007) by Rahat Kurd, we meet the identity struggle that Kurd goes through, because she wears a headscarf. Kurd gets an unexpected compliment which makes her realize that society today has a specific ideology of what a scarf means. The text shows an unofficial headscarf debate taking place in the world, which a woman with the same roots as Rahat Kurd must take a stand on.

First and foremost, Rahat Kurd focuses on how the scarf is the most powerful item of clothing in secular Western society - and the least understood. When you are a Muslim, the Hijab is a way to represent the religion and what Islam stands for. A Muslim women wear scarfs because it is recommended in the Quran. According to the Quran, the hair is a part of a woman's beauty that shouldn’t be shared with anyone but her husband. Rahat Kurd wears the scarf, because it is a religious symbol, but at the same time she believes that it should be seen as much more than just that, but to brand oneself and as a fashion phenomenon. It gives more importance to the style and preferences, and it gives the capacity to express an individual's identity and personality.