Women's Dress Code: White Teeth By Zadie Smith

Many followers of religions are devoted to following their God’s teachings. However, a few of the teachings may affect the follower in a negative way and can have a psychological effect. For example, the conservative rule in Islam plays a major role in the lifestyle of muslim people around the world. However, this rule is mostly directed towards the women of this religion and imposes a stricter lifestyle as compared to men. Some of the requirements that fall within the conservative rule which are directed towards the females include how the women should dress, how they are not supposed to take part in important decision making, how physical attacks can be an outcome if they are not cooperative, and how they are not to take part in most fundamentalist groups. Although believers are required to follow these rules, these different regulations create a negative psychological impact on the minds of Islamic women.

Women’s Dress Code: In the novel “White Teeth” by Zadie Smith, the author depicts the theme of conservative rules by various scenes in the book. One main instance is when Millat, one of the main characters who is a believer in the rule, criticizes how his girlfriend, Karina, dresses. The book described Millat’s feelings towards how she dressed. Zadie Smith wrote “It seemed to Milat that she was encouraging it; that she positively wanted men to

For example, from the characters that we know that are part of the fundamentalist group Keepers of the Eternal and Victorious Islamic Nation (Kevin), they are all male. These include the characters Mo, Shiva, Hussein-Ishmael, and Tyrone. The fact that women are underrepresented in these groups shows how the conservative rule plays. However, from the novel, it does not seem as though many women are affected psychologically as it is not shown that any woman showed a desire to be part of these