I now knew that all of us were prostitutes who sold themselves at varying prices, and that an expensive prostitute was better than a cheap one - Nawal El Tatawy

She replied that it was precisely men well versed in religion who beat their wives. The precepts of religion permitted such punishment. A virtuous woman was not supposed to complain about her husband. Her duty was perfect obedience.

Life is very hard. The only people who really live are those who are harder than life itself

That men force women to sell their bodies at a price, and that the lowest paid body is that of a wife. All women are prostitutes of one kind or another. Because I was intelligent I preferred to be a free prostitute, rather than an enslaved wife