British Muslim Author Recreates Classic Fairytales With A Hijabi Main Character

Radiya Hafiza, a British Muslim author who grew up in London, was raised on classic fairytale stories like Cinderella, Rapunzel and Sleeping Beauty. As she got older, she realized none of them looked like her, a hijabi Muslim woman.

While working as a temp, she started wondering how she could incorporate her Bangladeshi background and Muslim identity into a children’s book. From there, “Rumaysa: A Fairytale” was born.

Image courtesy of Pan Macmillan“Writing Rumaysa was a fun journey for me, as I’ve always loved fairy tales and retellings,” Hafiza said in a statement. “It was even more fun to bring my own culture and background to the characters, twisting familiar tropes to create strong, independent girls who were saving themselves.”

The story follows Rumaysa, a young Muslim girl trapped in a tower, who eventually escapes to help Cinderayla and Sleeping Sara find their own freedoms. Rather than the traditional “happily ever after” ending with a Prince Charming rescuing them, the girls free themselves.

Hafiza did this to show a more realistic side of 21st-century women.

“The characters began to take on lives of their own,” says Hafiza, “and as they did, it became apparent that they could save themselves; they could make their own happy endings through their celebration of sisterhood and friendship,” she said. “You know, a lot of these classical tales do have some problems when it comes to the role of girls and women in society, and I wanted to write something that felt truer to my experiences.”

Image courtesy of Amazon

Growing up, Hafiza said she felt that certain things were expected of her as a girl. Before writing children’s books, she wrote about prejudices in an entertainment blog “The Good Assistant.” Though she originally wrote anonymously, she has since admitted to being the one writing. She mostly wrote about her experience as the only Muslim in a publishing office.

Through “Rumaysa,” Hafiza is happy to see UK and American literature including more diverse characters.

“I wish I’d had more books like Rumaysa when I was growing up. I wonder if it would have shaped my sense of self and the confidence to be me if I’d had books where characters wore the same clothes as me and had the same kind of names,” she said. “When I was younger, I didn’t see anyone like myself in books, and this was reflected in the stories I used to write about vaguely brown-ish people with no particular religion or cultural traits. It is great to see more diverse children’s books coming out over the past few years.”

Hafiza hopes her book will encourage other young Muslim girls to be themselves.

“I hope Rumaysa encourages whoever reads it to be whoever they want to be. I hope it makes young Muslim girls in particular feel seen and empowered to be the hero of any story they choose. Mostly though, I hope readers enjoy the book,” she said.

Read a sample of and purchase “Rumaysa: A Fairytale” here.