A Note from Brata
Meet Reem Laal Shams-Farid, born on Sept. 13, 2025.
Reem is named after Reem Nabhan, the Palestinian child martyr who has haunted us since November 29, 2023 when her grandfather cradled her lifeless body, labeling her "the soul of my soul" while saying goodbye.
We believe our Reem was a parting gift from her Dadu, who passed away right before she was conceived.
Reem literally means gazelle but the root of the word means wild and free. Apparently in the Hebrew Bible, Reem is also used to refer to a mythical one-horned animal (so Reyya thinks Reem means unicorn).
And Laal is obvious — it is the name of my favorite person in the whole world, my Nani. Her father had 9 daughters at a time when girls were not valued, but he defied society by naming them each after jewels because he knew how precious they were to him.
Laal literally means red/precious, and is the word for garnet in Bangla. It also implies the calm before a storm (lull).
May our Reem Laal be a force of nature.
Both these names embody the absolute love parents have for the children, the kind of radical love that should compel us all to dream of and take action to create a better world for ALL children. For us, these names embody our promise to our daughters that we will continue to fight for them and with them so they can inherit a better world as they come of age inShaAllah. May Allah give us the strength to do so.