9 Ways Quantico Did The Muslim American Woman Justice

The Muslim American woman has finally been given justice as the writers of Quantico represent the complexity of Islam with its portrayal though the use of twins. Two women with very different religious identities are forced to be portrayed as one.

1. Identity:

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Though we have our fair share of badass women in the Eastern part of the world, an extremely unfortunate truth for most eastern women is that they are bound by CULTURAL and SOCIETAL NORMS. Nimah’s determination to stay vs. Raina’s hesitation to stay beautifully depicts that it is okay to want more from your life than being a sister, daughter, wife, or mother. These aspects of life don’t define you, they should complement your life and yourself.

2. Wit

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Both Nimah and Raina are depicted though out the season with quick quips, showing an immaculate sense of humor that’s never over the top, nor below the belt. You can be a Muslim woman with or without a scarf and still be funny? Who knew?! Oh that’s right the Quantico writers.

3. Swimwear

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It's no coincidence that out of all the women of Quantico, Nimah and Alex are shown coming out of the pool. The women are shown wearing swimsuits in public, displaying their confidence and breaking stereotypes. And it is something to be applauded (considering recent events -- looking at you, France) that Muslim women can adorn swimwear that adheres to their traditions and complete FBI level training. The writers beautifully show with such a simple scene that they are confident women who chose their own paths, a portrayal such as this is long overdue for a Muslim American woman.

4. Drinking

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Muslim or not, if a lady wants to get her drink on all you nay sayers and Judgey Judgersons can scooch on over to Nobodycareswhatyouthinkville. Population: You, because, well let’s face it, you’re the only one who cares.

When the trainees are planning to go out drinking to celebrate, Nimah doesn’t jump at the chance to go drinking, in fact offers Raina to take her place. The writers showed that not drinking does in fact get in the way of your social life (which is in fact quite a real epidemic for some of us).

5. Prayer

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Throughout the duration of the season, both sisters are seen at one point or another offering Namaz. For Raina, prayer is just a part of the daily routine while Nimah is shown praying when her heart reaches utter disparity (which to be honest is a lot of us). For both the Amin women Namaz is shown as a defining pillar of what shapes their character.

Namaz was always portrayed in a subtle manner and not as some mystical means to an end. It was shown for what it is: prayer plain and simple. Just nice friendly dialogues we share with our Lord like many others of all faiths. Except ours are five times a day, include a special carpet and must be done in a certain direction.

In comparison, Simon’s Judaism is only brought to light when it’s his funeral (spoiler alert sorry), Priyanka wears an Om bracelet all the way through the season yet she is never shown offering prayer to her statuette, in fact it is shown only twice and always in the background of the scene.

6. Hijab

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Raina expresses on many occasions how wearing the hijab causes her to be stereotyped and written off but her love for her country does not cease.

For her, Hijab is not shown as a sign of oppression, weakness or limitation towards the outside world. It’s portrayed as gratitude, confidence, courage and sense of responsibility.

7. Fashion

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Both women were given the chance express their own styles. We see splashes of color in Raina’s hijabs and beautiful cuts on the women in the form of palazzo pants and even bell bottoms (they’re making a comeback ya’ll). And to be honest the right jump suit can give any woman the confidence to take on the world.

8. Sex

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Sadly, sex and intimacy are still extremely taboo even in this day and age but the Quantico writers did not disappoint.

It would have been incredibly easy for the writers and producers to throw caution to the wind and showcase Nimah as a promiscuous wild child to counteract Raina's choice to wait. Instead, they chose to give her character enough respect that when she did choose to have sex with someone it was for the sake of the job and it was indeed her choice.

9. Well rounded women

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We see that neither woman is lacking in confidence and neither is dictated by choice.

It was quite refreshing to see on primetime American television portraying the Muslim woman without a morbid stereotype. *Cough*cough* Homeland *Cough*cough*24

Nimah and Raina are an insight to the Muslim women you work with, run into at grocery stores, flaunting perfect eyebrows at Sephora or rocking a dress with Hijab at Forever 21!

What makes me qualified to write this article? Because I’ve spent half of my life in America and the other half in Pakistan (in that order) and I’ve seen the beauty of Islam, the serenity that comes with worship and also the compromise that comes with questioning ideology and seeking your own identity that is created by choice and not dictated by religion.