For me, it is freedom, freedom from everything: when I write, I'm not a woman. I'm not a Muslim. I'm not a Moroccan. I can reinvent myself, and I can reinvent the world.
Leila SlimaniRead
I, too, am interested in identity and Islam, which is what people expect of us. But one must not write what is expected. It's important for North African writers to show they have other things to say.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote emphasizes the importance of individuality and the need to express unique perspectives beyond societal expectations.
Leila Slimani's quote reflects her belief that writers from North Africa, particularly those with Islamic backgrounds, are often pigeonholed into writing only about identity and culture. She advocates for breaking away from these expectations, highlighting the necessity for such writers to explore and articulate themes and ideas that lie outside of the preconceived notions that society has about them. This call for authenticity encourages creativity and self-expression in literature.
Themes
IdentityIslamNorth AfricaWritingIndividualityExpression
In practice
Example use cases
In a literary workshop discussing authenticity and identity.
More from Leila Slimani
All quotes →Authorities in Rabat believe that if we create a Moroccan character, even in a work of fiction, we are responsible for the image of Moroccan women.
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I remember that the first time I looked at my son, of course I felt love. But I think the first feeling was not love: it was fear. Someone is needing me. If something happens to him, what am I going to do? Maybe I won't survive if something happens to him? The fear was as big as the love.
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One of the big mistakes of the Moroccan elite and the elite in the Muslim world was to be afraid of the conservatives. They are fighting for their ideas. Why shouldn't we fight for our ideas?
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In Morocco, there is an insistence on authority. Children are not encouraged to speak up in front of their parents. My parents were not like this. I was the kind of girl who could tell her father, 'No, what you are saying is totally untrue, and I don't agree with you.'
Leila SlimaniRead
It's very important to say that French doesn't belong to France and to French people. Now you have very wonderful poets and writers in French who are not French or Algerian - who are from Senegal, from Haiti, from Canada, a lot of parts of the world.
Leila SlimaniRead
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