Noora - Pray For Qatar

Noora, 18, recently graduated and can expect to live at home until marriage. She’s bored and stays home most days. There are maids, a nanny, and a driver, so Noora’s help is not needed around the house. She sleeps in and spends most of her day watching TV and texting—mostly girlfriends, but she also texts a male friend her family doesn’t know about.

Noora loves shopping, dressing up, and attending events that require going to the salon. However, going anywhere requires permission and coordinating with some relative to accompany her. If Noora’s reputation is ever stained, it affects her worth and marriage prospects and her family’s reputation. Noora veils because her parents require it, but doesn’t care much for religion or spiritual things.

Noora was never interested enough in school to score highly on her high school tests, so she cannot further her education without remedial classes. She hopes to get married but feels purposeless in the meantime; more education might give her a better job, extra spending money, and some confidence, but there’s no promise of a payoff for all that effort. She also fears if she achieves too much she’ll be unattractive to a potential husband.