Alifa Rifaat

Alifa Rifaat, an Egyptian, lifts the veil on what it means to be a woman living within a traditional Muslim society.

And Other Stories

Distant View of a Minaret

Marion

 All my life I'd been ruled by a man, first my father and then my husband. I thought when he died I'd be free and on my own and would do as I liked. 

Daughter, I'm not crying now because I'm fed up or regret that the Lord created me a woman. No, it's not that. It's just that I'm sad about my life and my youth that have come and gone without my knowing how to live them really and truly as a woman.

What desperate contact is someone trying to make at this hour of the night? Is it a matter of life or death, or perhaps one of love? There is nothing like love to induce such a state of despair, no other reason to explain such obstinacy: a lover has been left and seeks the opportunity to plead to be allowed back. He must know that his beloved is at the other end and is refusing to pick up the receiver.

  This stillness and darkness brought about in Aziza a deep melancholy after her busy day, an acute sensation that her life somehow contained no future. Everyone else lived in hope yet her own life was a struggle to ensure that the present routine continued for ever./

Distant View of a Minaret quotes

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