JUNIA Magazine Issue 03

JUNIA MAGAZINE / ISSUE 03
07
Soraya is 40 years old and grew up in a devout
Sunni Muslim family. Her father is an imam in a
mosque, and the family is very influential. Because
Soraya was from a Muslim family, she prayed
often and Allah was at the centre of her life. She
prayed five times per day and fasted on Mondays
and Thursdays, as any devout Muslim would. She
wanted to be a servant of Allah and often read the
Koran and taught.
ANITA BARKER
ANDERSEN HAS BEEN
SPEAKER DURING
MANY CONFERENCES
FOR WOMEN AND
ALSO GUEST SPEAKER
ON MANY OCCASIONS
ALL OVER THE WORLD.
PHOTOGRAPHER
JUNIA MAGAZINE
As an adult, she taught other women how to
grow deeper in their faith. She wore a niqab
(a cloth that covers the face) every day; her
parents were strict and she was never allowed
to go out alone. Soraya’s big dream was to study
at a university but her family thought it was
in¬appropriate.
Soraya’s family situation was very strained
for a time. Her husband had left her and she felt
abandoned and without hope. One night when
she was completely despondent and felt she
could no longer deal with her chaotic ituation, she
called out to Allah in desperation for help.
That same night she had a dream. In the dream,
she sat with friends when three men appeared.
The man in the middle said: “Come and follow me,
I will help you!” Soraya had learned that women
weren’t allowed to go with men, so in her dream
she refused to follow the man. When the man left,