We teach girls to shrink themselves, to make themselves smaller. We say to girls: 'You can have ambition, but not too much. You should aim to be successful, but not too successful. Otherwise, you will threaten the man.' Because I am female, I am expected to aspire to marriage. I am expected to make my life choices, always keeping in mind that marriage is the most important. Now, marriage can be a source of joy and love and mutual support, but why do we teach girls to aspire to marriage and we don't teach boys the same?

Our histories cling to us. We are shaped by where we come from.

She could not complain about not having shoes when the person she was talking to had no legs.

We did that often, asking each other questions whose answers we already knew. Perhaps it was so that we would not ask the other questions, the ones whose answers we did not want to know.

She wanted to ask him why they were all strangers who shared the same last name.

I think you travel to search and you come back home to find yourself there.

Culture does not make people. People make culture.