Laila

"Fear keeps you obedient, and obedience keeps you safe."

"She had never thought of herself as strong until she had no choice but to be."

"Love is a luxury, but survival is a necessity."

"The only power I ever had was the power to say no."

"She understood then what her mother had never had: a choice."

"Children are mirrors; they reflect everything you do back at you."

"I will not raise my children to accept this world."

"Once you accept defeat, you are already defeated."

"The pen is mightier than the sword, and yet we are not allowed to hold it."

"She had become an architect of small mercies."

"I remember when there was music here."

"A mother's job is never finished, only interrupted by death."

"Patience is not a virtue I possess."

"She had learned that the world is a cruel place, indifferent to suffering."

"Dreams are luxuries for people with futures."

"I choose to survive because my children need me."

"History is written by the victors, and we are always the vanquished."

"Some days I don't recognize myself in the mirror."

"The stronger you become, the more you realize how little strength matters."

"I have learned that hope is the cruelest thing of all."

"I was afraid of silence for a very long time."

"Children are good judges of people."

"It's not the end, Mariam. It's a beginning."

"Stories are the only medicine that works every time."

"Education is the only way to break the chains of ignorance."

"Freedom is not always found in grand gestures, but in small moments of resistance."

"Maybe women aren't meant to work like men do."

"I am content being your wife, but I will not be happy."

"What is the use of education if it teaches you nothing of value?"

"We are bound by invisible threads we cannot cut."