Everybody has to die, Firdaus. I will die, and you will die. The important thing is how to live until you die.

The family code in Egypt is one of the worst family codes in the Arab world. Polygamy. The husband is having absolute power over the family.

When we live in a world that is very unjust, you have to be a dissident.

When my second husband shouted, 'Me or your writing!' I replied, 'My writing.' We separated.

Language, journalism, food, sex. All is politics. Even innocent love stories are politics. ... There is no such thing as neutrality.

Love has made me a different person. It has made the world beautiful.

Danger has been a part of my life ever since I picked up a pen and wrote. Nothing is more perilous than truth in a world that lies.