Authors Note 01

I am not an Arab woman, bound by the laws of my country. I am not a Guantanamo Bay prisoner, convicted for crimes I had not committed. I am not a satanic, chained by the cruelty of my own soul, or lack of it.

I am a woman, imprisoned by the dictatorship that comes with old school thinking and narrow mindedness.

I am an ordinary citizen of my country. I am South African by birthright, Indian by nationality and Muslim by choice.

All of what you have and will read are real life occurrences as I recall them.

This blog allows me to share my story, my experiences and even my imperfections with you.

Writing it has brought back a surge of memories. Whilst most are memories that serve as a reminder of who I was, the childhood that brought me here today, there are some memories I had buried deep under.

The recollection of these memories open up wounds I had forcefully stitched close, wounds I would have otherwise never exposed. Each of us are entrusted with a test, our own set of difficulties to bear.

Entrusted. Because we all have an opportunity in this meander called life to discover who we are, our strengths, our weaknesses, most of all to discover our ultimate purpose.

My faith in my creator, my determination to rise above what was expected of me and my willpower to succeed is what kept me alive. I hope that in some way my story makes you see the world in a different light. Our problems is not bigger than anyone else's, they just come with a more glaring light. If we can look past that, we can appreciate what we have. 

Find what keeps you alive, what ignites your very being and keep it lit. for without a sense of being, we are nothing. Just a body, moving in rhythm to someone else's beat.  

Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” - Mark Twain