‘Go naked,’ said Moni, half sarcastic, half challenging. ‘Nudity is the natural state. That’s how we’re born. That is who we really are without the dignity of clothes.’

‘I tried it.’

Moni and Salma gasped. ‘No, you did not,’ said Salma. ‘Lunatic.’

‘I did it once in the forest.’

‘Do it again and if Mullin rapes you, don’t come to me crying,’ said Moni.

‘Oh Moni,’ said Iman. ‘I got cold and had to crawl in the ground. I covered myself with leaves and branches. It was like being buried. And I thought to myself, like you just said, that’s what I was wearing when I was born, nothing. And that’s what I will be wearing when I’m buried – a shroud over nothing. I learnt from that. Clothes are about living, not hiding away. Clothes are protection from the cold and wind. I felt vulnerable without them. The pebbles on the ground cut my feet, there were thorns, dirt and insects and little animals. Let alone the cold.’

Moni rolled her eyes. Salma was aghast. She was losing Iman; little by little, her special friend, the younger sister, was slipping away. This was not the Iman she had always known. Not with this fluency, this waywardness. Salma could not reply. It was left to Moni to talk and argue. She went over the basics, tried different tactics, but Iman would not budge. She was not going to wear her hijab any more.

‘Lady Evelyn didn’t wear the hijab.’

‘She did when she went on pilgrimage,’ said Moni.

‘But not here,’ insisted Iman.

‘We went over this,’ said Salma. ‘She was restricted by her social position. And the times she was living in. She couldn’t go around dressing up as a foreigner!’

‘She could if she wanted to,’ said Iman. ‘She was brave enough.’

‘It’s not about courage,’ said Moni.

‘Besides, you of all women, shouldn’t do this,’ said Salma. ‘You’re so attractive. Already men are all over you. What will it be like when there is more of you to admire, have you thought of this?’

Iman shrugged. ‘I never cared for all that.’

‘Liar,’ said Salma.

‘Look who’s calling who a liar,’ said Moni.

Salma turned on her, ‘You think you’re better than us both.’

Moni made a face. ‘I’m not the one cheating on my husband or taking off my hijab.’

‘You’re an oppressor,’ said Iman.

Moni was shocked. ‘Me?’

‘Yes, acting as if no one in the world has more troubles than you do. You’re full of it.’

‘That’s completely unfair,’ said Moni. ‘You two are free to do what you like, but my duty as a friend is to caution you.’

‘So why don’t you accept caution from me?’ said Iman.

‘Because I’m not doing anything wrong.’

‘Pushing your husband away is wrong.’