My Past Is A Foreign Country: A Muslim Feminist Finds Herself
Zeba Talkhani'Touching on often taboo subjects . . . Talkhani's story of grit is a portrait of a young woman who refused to let others define her.' — ELLE
'Brilliant & brutally honest, this memoir ropes you in with every page. The intimacy that Zeba evokes will remind you of your own sister opening her heart to you.' — Meena Kandasamy, author of When I Hit You, shortlisted for The Women's Prize
27-year-old Zeba Talkhani charts her experiences growing up in Saudi Arabia amid patriarchal customs reminiscent of The Handmaid's Tale, & her journey to find freedom abroad in India, Germany & the UK as a young woman.
Talkhani offers a fresh perspective on living as an outsider & examines her relationship with her mother & the challenges she faced when she experienced hair loss at a young age. Rejecting the traditional path her culture had chosen for her, Talkhani became financially independent & married on her own terms in the UK.
Drawing on her personal experiences Talkhani shows how she fought for the right to her individuality as a feminist Muslim & refused to let negative experiences define her.
Zeba Talkhani has written for the Saudi Gazette, the Manipal Journal, gal-dem, Wasafiri & the Nasty Women anthology. She works in publishing & is a passionate advocate for BAME voices in the publishing industry. She was born in Sirsi, South India, in 1991. She currently lives in London.