"Mothers should tell little girls and boys about the importance of dreams,' Aunt Habiba said. 'They give a sense direc…"

"There are many ways to be beautiful. Fighting, swearing, and ignoring tradition could make a women irresistible."

"Sometimes, she said that to be stuck in a harem simply meant that a woman had lost her freedom of movement. Other tim…"

"The French do not imprison their wives behind walls, my dear mother-in-law,' she would say. 'They let them run wild i…"

"But when your situation is hopeless, all you can do is turn the world upside down, transform it according to your wis…"

"She would take him to faraway lands to observe foreign ways, so he could get closer to the strangeness within himself."

"I asked Mina how would I know on which side I stood. Her answer was quick, short, and very clear - If you can't get o…"

"But since then, looking for the frontier has become my life’s occupation. Anxiety eats at me whenever I cannot situat…"

"But it was the radio incident that taught me an important lesson. It was then that Mother told me about the need to c…"

"To make babies, the bride and groom had to dress up nicely, put flowers in their hair and lie down together on a very…"