Khalid and Laila share many similarities as individuals. Here are their differences.
First, they are both women. Both were born a woman but have had various treatments and surgeries to change their bodies to better reflect their selves. However, unlike each other, Khalid was given the choice of marrying who she wanted to, while Laila was not. However, this difference of there is what binds them together.
Second, both were born into a home where freedom and choices were respected. Laila was born in a country called Iran, where women were confined and treated badly, even in their own homes. Khalid, being the daughter of two wealthy Yemeni businessmen, was also subject to things she would never experience if she lived in a Western country. Their families allowed them to come to the United States and made these two women feel safe and loved.
Third, they both have had the same first-hand experience with the problems within America’s criminal justice system. Khalid suffered for her entire life because of her father’s decision to aid in the war against the Soviet Union.
Fourth, both were a terrible loss to their country. While Laila’s father took her life after her mother’s death, Khalid left behind two young children and a new country to live in. In her mind, she chose America. When her husband died, she moved with her son to North Carolina, but when he passed away, she decided to move back to Yemen.
Fifth, both were forced to flee their home by their nation’s government. Laila was threatened by her father because she had left him and had left her daughter to marry an American man. Khalid, though she knew that if she did not marry the man, she would be taken from her family, ended up forcing herself to stay in the United States and married.
Sixth, both were at risk and in danger in America. Unlike Laila, who could leave Yemen, both women felt no choice but to stay in America. In her book, “A Woman Called Khalid”, Laila describes what it was like when the government of Yemen, while she was still a teenager, decided to force a young woman to marry a man she did not know. Laila states that she eventually escaped Yemen and left her husband and three small children behind, but she still suffers the effects of her past marriage.
Finally, these similarities between the two women are what binds them together as being two of the most beautiful women in the world. This is perhaps why their relationship is so strong.
