The Cost of Girlhood
Tima Somalia's 'AlRawabi School for Girls' is several things but at the heart, it is a dark tale about the cost of girlhood.
Have you ever scrolled through Netflix in search of teen dramas? If so, then as a pawn of the app's algorithm you must have come across “AlRawabi School for Girls.” It is a captivating Jordanian series that mainly focuses on issues impacting teenagers such as bullying, dating, and friendships.
These themes have pitted it against “The Mean Girls,” “Euphoria,” “13 Reasons Why,” “Elite" and all the other dramas that are set in high school and at some point address bullying. However, such comparisons are similar to boiling down the broth to bones.
The series directed, written, and produced by Tima Somalia is greatly layered to capture a range of themes including identity, gender dynamics, generational conflicts, class and culture-religious differences, and mental health. It also attempts to represent girlhood and youth from the MENA region which is commendable.
In this issue of Rewinding Reels, I would like to explore these themes and dive into the pink maniac.
The Play of Power
AlRawabi School For Girls
The first season of ASG, which premiered on Aug. 12, 2021, opens with a violent scene where our narrator Mariam (Andria Tayeh) loses consciousness after her head forcefully hits the ground. She describes how much the school meant to her and announces that it no longer serves the same value.
AlRawabi is an important motif in the series. It isn't just an educational institution but a world that belongs to the students. In the past, I questioned the seeming freedom that high school provided to characters in teen series. But when I look back, school was the only place that truly belonged to you when you outgrow childhood and couldn't fit into adulthood.
This becomes a reason for Layan (Noor Taher), Rania, (Joanna Arida), and Roqayya (Salsabiela A) to want to be invincible at AlRawabi. They reign at the top with dominance, and glory and shall go to any lengths to protect that crown.
Humiliation, false accusations, power-play, and rubbing salt on fresh wounds are their weapons. This makes it easier for them to get away with things including sneaking out from school to meet their boyfriends.
There are more than a few scenes which shall make you wonder what the hell the adults in the series are doing. I have highlighted more about them ahead in the essay but they are also in a constant battle of power with society.
Mariam
Mariam is a confident, self-righteous, and individualistic girl. For her power wasn't the aim until it was stripped away from her. In a conflict with Layan, she was falsely accused of an attempt to molest. This leaves her with emotional, and physical bruises, a tarnished reputation, and a thirst for revenge.
In the series, Mariam’s character best represents the power that comes from reputation. She takes pride in being herself and parts of her identity are supported by her surroundings. So, when her public image is shattered she becomes determined to regain control over her reputation.
This transformation is depicted through her rage and desire to dismantle the trio’s dominance. While this begins as a means for regaining her esteem, it soon morphs into a darker stubbornness and obsession.
At first, this came at the cost of her friendship with Dina (Yara Mustafa), an amiable girly girl. Eventually, it leads to greater consequences and guilt. However, this rage also brings her closer to Noaf, who ends up joining Mariam after a clash with Layan.
From that point onwards, the series takes unexpected turns. The layers of familiar high school revenge drama peel away, revealing the Tima Somalia universe. In this second part of the six-episode series, we begin to learn more about the characters and their relation with power.
Roqayya
Among the trio, Roqayya is the cruellest. She wouldn't think twice before hurting someone physically and emotionally, believing she is policing them.
Roqayya sees it as her right, as a dignified member of the society, to punish anyone who threatens the standards she upholds- even if those standards are twisted to secure her position at the top of the social chain.
Despite her harshness, Roqayya is sincere in her values about romance, friendship, and religion. For her power comes from the honour of fitting into the impeccable societal ideals while getting away with some of her desires.
Thus, she shatters when her honour is publicly tarnished after a vengeful prank by Mariam, Noaf, and their new partner in crime, Dina. They catfish Roqayya on social media and persuade her to take off her Hijab.
Under the veil of trust, she agrees, only for her image to be uploaded online; pushing her to the centre of the public’s scorn.
This section of the series particularly highlights the deep set values of the MENA region that distinguishes an Jordanian teen from elsewhere.
The incident makes the severe consequences of the power struggle among the girls evident. Roqayya is pulled out of school for 'ruining the family's reputation' by taking off her Hijab, highlighting the high stakes involved in their conflicts.
Rania & Dina
Rania and Dina are two sides of the same coin. Both of them prioritise friendship and simplicity. They are at their best when surrounded by people they love. However, the motivation behind their characteristics are vastly different.
Rania comes from an abusive household, where she suffers physical assaults from her alcoholic father. This harsh environment drives Rania to find an escape, hope, and joy with her friends. For the same reason she utilises dominance and carefree behaviour as a shield from emotional and physical vulnerability.
On the other hand, Dina comes from a financially, and emotionally secure environment. This stability allows her to form amiable connections, seek memorable high school experience and comfortably reveal her vulnerability to her friends.
Due to their common trait of valuing friendships, both of them are first to back away from the power struggle when things start getting serious. However, Rania’s involvement in bullying Mariam makes her one of her targets.
Amidst miscommunication and difference of opinion with her friends, Mariam continues with her plans. Which leads to authorities catching Rania at the hotel's disco with her boyfriend on an overnight school trip.
Rania takes the complete blame for shielding her friends (Layan, including Noaf). As a result, she suffers the consequences, receiving a black eye and many more bruises from her father.
Noaf
Noaf represents one of the best character arcs in the series. She enters the story as an outsider, gradually revealing details of her past as she forms friendships with the other girls.
Noaf is driven, rebellious, and grunge. For her power lies in doing the right thing and being courageous. These core elements of her character place her in conflict with Layan and attract her to Mariam’s cause, rebelling against the social hierarchy.
However, these same traits have marked her a troublemaker in previous schools and AlRawabi is her last chance to peacefully graduate. She has great potential but faces even greater risks.
Therefore, when she witnesses the consequences of her revenge on Roqayya, her anger begins to lose its spark. It diminishes further at an overnight school trip where she witnesses a different side of Layan.
Alone in a deserted pool, Layan saves Noaf from the sexual advances of a middle-aged man, forcing Noaf to reevaluate her understanding of Layan and revenge.
Layan
It hardly needs to be said that Layan is the sun around which much of AlRawabi rotates. She is confident, dominating, and ruthlessly intimidating. She never hesitates to attack someone's Achilles heel to retain her power.
However, unlike Roqayya, whose actions are motivated from societal honour; or Rania, who hides vulnerability, Layan’s motivations are more complex, shaped by nature and nurture.
She comes from an influential family that imposes patriarchal values. Her brother, Hazem, is overprotective and carries a gun with him, symbolising the threat of rebelling against the conservative values.
His radical conservatism is tolerated and respected at home. To the point that Layan isn’t even permitted to pluck and shape her eyebrows. This family pressure drives her to rebel and dominate the social hierarchy. In a way, being invincible is the only way for her to have autonomy.
By the end of the season, when her character’s complexity is at its peak, Mariam reaches the height of her vengeance. She discloses Layan’s location to Hazem, who catches Layan with Laith.
Due to certain misunderstandings, and prejudices, Hazem believes that his sister has broken the laws of dignity, prompting him to take the justice into his hands and punish her.
The AlRawabi Adults
The adults in ASG briefly appear in the series but they play key roles in shaping and directing the students' lives through their actions. For each character the power and responsibilities are varied but they have a common link: the society.
The responsibilities for Ms Faten Qadi (Nadera Omran), the principal of AlRawabi school, includes protecting the students and the school. Yet the latter seem to often exceed the welfare of students. She utilises her power of knowledge about the serious factors at play, including the tendencies of Layan’s family, to turn a blind eye to her escapades and bullying. This leniency towards Layan worked as oxygen to the conflict among the girls. It also failed to protect Layan from the ultimate tragedy.
On the other hand, Miss Abeer, the teacher of ASG class, is always enthusiastic about the welfare of the students. She doesn't seem to have a complete picture of the dark elements, but that doesn't stop her from advocating to have a better approach to students’ matters. Despite her enthusiasm, she never reaches students beyond the surface level because she holds certain prejudices about the changing society. The gravity of this surfaced when she didn't believe Layan’s claims about sexual advances of the unknown man on Noaf at the overnight school trip and ended up partaking in victim blaming.
Lastly, for the ASG parents, the responsibility and power lay in providing emotional support and guidance to their children. However, each of them betrays their children to protect societal elements such as reputation, and honour. Mariam’s mother believes the false attempted molestation allegations of the class instead of her child. Roqayya’s parents ended her education instead of supporting her when she was deceived. Meanwhile, Rania’s father and Layan's parents fail to protect the girls.
Due to these failures of ASG adults, the girls’ wellbeing is repeatedly compromised, pushing them to deal with their emotions and conflicts on their own. Thus, ASG starts as a stereotypical high school revenge series but grows to address many societal issues that affect teenagers.