"A woman can walk miles without making one single step forward. As a child born in a harem, I instinctively knew that to live is to open closed doors. To live is to look outside. To live is to step out. Life is trespassing."
Fatema Mernissi was a Moroccan sociologist and writer known for her work on gender, Islam, and social change. Her scholarship and essays influenced discussions on women"s rights in the Arab and Islamic worlds.