Amina

Mohammed Umar

The moving story of a woman who challenges the restrictions of the life she is born into, and in so doing helps to bring about change for more than just herself. It illuminates issues which rarely appear in fiction but which structure the lives of millions of women - the legal status of Muslim women, the limitations imposed on them by traditional and religious conventions, the restrictions on their economic activities, the humiliations visited on them as a result of unquestioned male power in personal relationships. It engages the reader's sympathy through its believable portrayal of one remarkable contemporary woman. Written with the passion born of real experience, this remarkable portrayal through the eyes of a woman by a northern Nigerian man leaves the reader with hope for the future.

It has been received by thousands of women and men as a book that ‘tells it as it is.’

Paperback: 250 pages, 141mm x 213mm
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1592214045
ISBN-13: 978-1592214044

Amina opens up like a soft music

Amina opens up like a soft music and it keeps that rhythm going even when tough things are happening. I think this is what is special about it. The soft music carries on even when the fury and anger grows loud.

Fatema Mernissi

Umar’s work is unique

Mohammed Umar must be considered a literary pioneer of African feminism. Umar’s work is unique in contemporary Nigerian literature as a progressive cry for social justice.

Africa - Journal of the International African Institute

A touch of hope

This novel is a touch of hope for all oppressed women in the Muslim world.

Kholood Alqahtani, Arab News (Saudi Arabia)

Surprisingly fresh and brilliant debut

Ziauddin Sardar, Books of the Year (2006) New Statesman

A powerful, beautiful and compelling narrative

Beautifully told, a powerful, beautiful and ultimately compelling narrative. Amina lets in the light upon an untold story.

Aminatta Forna – Novelist

The message in this book is universal and timeless

The message in this book is universal and timeless. Women in different societies and cultures are still experiencing the issues described. Hopefully in generations to come, the world will be a changed place and this book will serve as a historical record of a long-suffering era.

Triena Ong, President, Singapore Book Publishers Association

Amina is available in the following languages:

Arabic, Assamese, Azeri, Bahasa Indonesia, Bengali, Dogri, English, Farsi, Finnish, French, Gojri, Greek, Hausa, Hindi, Japanese, Kannada, Kanuri, Kashmiri, Khandeshi, Konkani, Maithili, Malay, Malayalam, Marathi, Meiteilon, Ndebele, Oriya, Polish, Punjabi, Rajasthani, Sanskrit, Santali, Serbian, Shona, Sindhi, Sinhala, Spanish, Tamil, Telugu, Urdu, Uzbek and Vietnamese.