Finding Yourself

Infidel is first and foremost about a young lady who grows up searching for herself. She is brought up to believe in certain cultural values and religious beliefs, but often finds herself questioning them and struggling. As she gets older, she becomes slightly more courageous in speaking up for herself and asking the questions she has. She opposes her mother's beatings when she is in her early teenage years.

When she wants to continue her education, she pursue a secretary school so that her mother will fund part of it for her. However, when her mother doesn't want her to work, especially because of living in a non-Muslim country, she goes around her. She fights to become her own person, so she gets permission from an elder in the clan to go back to Somalia to work, overriding her mother's wishes.

Later, when she returns to Kenya...