Level-headed romance

Shelina Zahra Janmohamed grew up in a world where it was not uncommon for buxom aunties to make rules about marriage. Among other things, these women decreed that the girl should always be younger than the boy, less educated and shorter. However, as the London-based Janmohamed writes in Love in a Headscarf, her recently published memoir about finding 'the one', the aunties did not mind if the boy gelled his hair to appear taller. Apart from aunties, the cast of characters that populate Janmohamed's book include potential bridegrooms, at least one of whom use "struck by lightning" as an excuse for failing to respond to her e-mails. But while Love in a Headscarf is replete with this and similar hilarious encounters, and comes packaged in a pretty pink cover, it would be a mistake to slot it as just another addition to the 'chick lit' genre.

In the book, Janmohamed attempts to dispel stereotypical notions about Muslim women, who are often seen – particularly in the West – as oppressed creatures forced into marriage, without a mind to call their own. In contrast, her account is that of a Muslim woman who finds her religion to be "positive" and "uplifting", and her quest for the perfect man is in many ways also a spiritual journey. "This seemed a perfect way to make people understand what it was like to be a Muslim woman, through the most universal of stories, which is about love," Janmohamed said during a recent interview at a café in North London. After all, "everybody loves a good story about love." Her search for a husband spanned over a decade, beginning when she was a 19-year-old student at Oxford University, on a "Good Headscarf Day" as she calls it.