I am Muslim (I love how that sounds so scary, BAM!), and never knew how funny muslim mothers could get. A few days ago, i was at a friends’ house,who had invited us, with another couple of families (yes, we do big like that) for dinner. There was my family, a French one, and another Pakistani one.

At first the dinner thing appeared to be really nice and empty of any weird thoughts (wait for it..), until I got up to get more cups from the kitchen and that our host followed me to gossip a bit. She by the way slipped in a couple of words about the Pakistani mother who was looking for a bride to her son, and joked about how she had lied to the woman who had asked her if she knew someone, while she actually knew me! This last part of the statement made me laugh, briefly, and then got me thinking of the expectations of a young Muslim girl’s family, still traditional even in our era. Continue Reading »

Do your bookshelves heave with self-help books or do you prefer the trial and error approach to love and relationships?

With over two thousand self help books being published around the world every year, there is a plethora of books available for women needing relationship advice. Some of them are fabulous, some are indifferent and others are positively harmful.

The titles of some of the very popular books range from blunt ones like ‘Catch him and Keep him’, and ‘What every woman must know about her man’ to more subtle titles like ‘Capturing the heart of Mr. Right’, and ‘The good wife’s guide’.

Each of these books promise you tips on how to have your man eating off your palm, how to get him to sign on the dotted line …and the list goes on. And if you have been ruined by all the self help books you have read before, the next one promises to change that by offering you ‘tried and tested success tips’. Continue Reading »

At face value, we are judged by how we dress, carry ourselves and articulate our message. If anyone bothers to get to know you a little better, you are then judged by your family and friends. Since we can’t choose our family, why not then discuss friendship.

As have all of you, I too have lost friends I thought were for life. Some of these losses could have been avoided and others were tragic. But the most painful losses are those that have cost you time and energy. Time and energy you spent dashing off to help a stranded friend in distress. What kind of distress? A puncture, an accident or a bad date. Time and energy you spent, buying Nandos chicken and milkshakes and pigging out while watching a chick flick because your friend was sad.

In truth, we all hide our true selves deep down in the core. That’s because we’re afraid of being judged too harshly, of being rejected. This is the ultimate fear. We all want to be loved, to be valued, to be missed when we leave the physical realm.

So why then can’t we just be honest people. From the word go, so as to prevent being rejected after 2 years of friendship. To prevent being called fake and bitchy (can I say that on here??). Continue Reading »