People here think of me as either a brave woman or a daring reckless girl who has no shame for publishing a fiction book under her real name. Arab culture views women as 'private things' that should stay behind the veils. So what I did by publishing a novel is actually "get through the veils and share a lot of my thoughts with the world." In other words, I stopped being a 'too private thing' of the people I am related to. That is why many people didn't show me enough support for writing, unfortunately. I do believe in encouragement because I went through a time when I felt like my life was really falling apart. I've already experienced the feeling of being unsupported by everyone around you. It effing hurts. -.-"
When I officially became a published novelist, I thought I gained some independence from the surroundings that want to take over my life. That little feeling of independence helped me stick a photo of me without my burqa (face cover) on my blog lol. But I am still not enjoying enough of it.
As I said in a previous post, I do believe in encouragement. I came across this amazing video by
@nikewomen supporting Arab women. Check it out here:
Arab women may need such encouragement for a whole century I guess. Until the day it becomes the norm to be an athletic Arab woman, I just want to ride a bicycle XD
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