Some words suffer horribly in translation; others change shape radically when they travel, and there are a few (emotional shortcuts to my home and my past) that have acquired an unnerving timbre and resonance through their Atlantic crossing. One of these words, madrasa, seems especially charged in New York, writes Nadia Davids.
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/ 4 September 2006
‘It should be a law! All Muslim girls should have their vaginas inspected at school when they turn seven! That way, we will know, we can find out if the circumcision has taken place and we can go after their parents.” The Dutch woman gestured wildly, punctuating every sentence with a glare at the audience and a hand slamming on the desk in front of her.