Writer

Whenever I go to New York or any European country, they say: 'Nawal, why don't you get a facelift?' I tell them, 'I am proud of my wrinkles. Every wrinkle on my face tells the story of my life. Why should I hide my age?'

Whenever I go to New York or any European country, they say: 'Nawal, why don't you get a facelift?' I tell them, 'I am proud of my wrinkles. Every wrinkle on my face tells the story of my life. Why should I hide my age?'

We here in Egypt are fed up with U.S. colonialism.

To me, 'beauty' means to be natural, creative, honest - to say the truth.

If you do not love yourself, well, you cannot do anything well, that's my philosophy.

Unity is power; without unity women cannot fight for their rights anywhere.

The feminists who are aware of the effects of patriarchy realize that we are all in the same boat from the dangers of patriarchy, and that the oppression of women is universal.

When you have increasing power of religious groups, oppression of women increases. Women are oppressed in all religions.

Home to me is the world because my books have been translated into more than 30 languages.

I've participated in many demonstrations since I was a child. When I was at medical college, I was fighting King Farouk, then British colonization, against Nasser, against Sadat who pushed me into prison, Mubarak who pushed me into exile. I never stopped.

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.

I am becoming more radical with age. I have noticed that writers, when they are old, become milder. But for me it is the opposite. Age makes me more angry.

To be creative means to connect. It's to abolish the gap between the body, the mind and the soul, between science and art, between fiction and nonfiction.

War criminals in the U.S. and Israel are not punished: no international court has the courage to put them on trial.

I am very much against makeup and high heels and all that we inherit as 'beauty.'

You know, I look to myself mainly as a creative writer all my life and a medical doctor.

What makes revolutionary thought unique is its clarity and dignity, and its clear grasp of freedom and justice: simple, clear words that are understood without the need for any help from elite writers or thinkers.

When you are intelligent and beautiful you face a lot of problems. If you are beautiful and stupid then it's easy.

Plastic surgery is a postmodern veil.

I don't think that people in power can be convinced by words or articles. They will never give it up by choice.