SPOILER ALERT FOR GREY’S ANATOMY SEASON 14ย
Weย are a week away from Grey’s Anatomy’s season 14 finale, so we couldn’t let the season come to an end without talking about Grey Sloan Memorial’s first hijabi intern, Dahlia Qadri! The intern who took off her hijab to save a young boy’s life!
Dahlia is the first prominent character to wear a hijab on the show (The first time hijabs were worn on the show was by extras in season 13 ‘Be Still, My Soul’ episode). And if you’re a loyal fan of the show, you would have probably noticed the number of hijabi nurses and visitors who are always in the background in almost every episode this season. It is as if the show wants to deliver a message, but what is this message?
Shonda Rhimes, the creator of the show, is well known forย shattering stereotypes and breaking boundaries (just as she is known for killing off our favourite characters!!) and she is doing so this year through Qadri’s character.
In episode 13, when a young kid,ย had rapid arterial bleed in the ER, and there was no one to help, with only a few moments of time before the bleed could turn fatal, Qadri unraveled her hijab one handed, quickly using it to stop the flow of blood.
Doctor Hunt commended Qadri on her quick thinking. โIโm surprised you just took your hijab off like that.โ He told her.
โWell, I mean itโs a symbol of my faith, but my faith is about service and compassion, and he was bleeding really fast,” she answered.ย At the end of the episode, Hunt returned her scarf, having had it cleaned for her.
When she was at aย crossroad, between maintaining her modesty and saving the life of a child, Qadry took no time at all to decide, because as she mentioned the Islamic faith is also about service and compassion.
Greyโs Anatomy may be fiction, but the show’s writers never stop sending the world some lessons to be learnt, they don’t stop opening conversation that need to be had.
Qadry is just a normal girl, just like any intern at the hospital, she is funny, competitive, she even has a crush on Dr. Jackson Avery (Stand in the line, Qadry). She is not some alien or a terrorist just because she wears a headscarf.ย The show encourages the audience toย open their minds and take a moment to learn more about what they donโt know, instead of believing what they’ve heard secondhand.
