One woman’s fight to be heard in a male world

Non-fiction: Laughing All The Way To The Mosque. By Zarqa Nawaz. Virago, €16.99. Reviewed by Joanne Hayden

Zarqa Nawaz: the Canadian author writes engagingly about her upbringing in a conservative Pakistani family. Picture: Getty
Zarqa Nawaz: the Canadian author writes engagingly about her upbringing in a conservative Pakistani family. Picture: Getty

Growing up in Canada, the only daughter of Pakistani parents, Zarqa Nawaz found several ways to rebel. First she shaved her legs and cut her hair; then, in a bit to outdo her conservative mother and father, she began wearing the hijab, turned off Bollywood tunes and binned a bottle of vanilla essence because it contained alcohol.

Nawaz ...