A Border Passage is the autobiographical story of Leila Ahmad, an Egyptian woman raised during the turbulent 1940s and 1950s in Cairo, Egypt. Ahmad's story is one of self-identification and soul-searching set in the framework of the end of British colonialism in Egypt, the rise of Islam as the overwhelmingly dominant faith in the region, and the unique experiences of living as a woman in Cairo. The later parts of the novel deal with Ahmad's discovery and acceptance of feminism after moving to America.
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