Reflection Essay

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Reflection Essay

The essay is relatable especially in the context that it talks of the plights that we are aware of concerning Arab women in the Middle East. The contents of the essay are educative and the consequences that come from disobeying any of the many Islamic rules show that the staunchness in the Islam religion is restricting. However, despite the focus on Mariam al Mansouri after having joined the military, it is my belief that the essay would have been easier to relate to had it started with the early days of her life. This would have enabled a transition from one story to another and at the same time, would have shown the events that lead to having her as an outcast to her community.

Similarly, the essay has explained so much about Mariam AL Mansouri and it has created the perspective of a few things that Muslim women are not allowed to do. Moreover, using examples of other women, where one woman follows the full Islamic ideals and the other who does the same thing as Mariam, would have given an opportunity for a comparative analysis. However much the story is already understandable and relatable, it would become more realistic to see that similar occurrences have happened before and that had she behaved differently, she would not be in the same predicament as she was.

The message of the story is one of bravery and following one’s dream. The prize Mariam paid to achieve this might discourage readers perhaps maybe because of failure to highlight how her “disobedience’ made history. The writer says that the message is that there no need to fear the society when chasing dreams because everyone needs to take chances. However, looking at the points of service, patriotism, and passion, the three seem like much stronger themes. What Mariam was involved in did not give her any benefits, financial or otherwise but rather gave her a chance to fight for her people and her religion. The author may have overlooked this noble deed in the context of concentrating on the gender discrimination despite the fact that it happened.