Female authors share challenges

The second day of the Emirati Book Fair (EBF 2019), organised by the Sharjah Book Authority (SBA) in cooperation with Emirates Writers Union, witnessed a panel discussion titled ‘The Emirati Novel Today’, which laid the experiences of Emirati female authors.

Moderated by author Mohammad Abu Arab, the session hosted authors Iman Al Yousif, Saleha Obaid and Nadia Al Najjar who shared their writing experience, the history of the Emirati novel, and its role in enriching the local cultural scene. They also discussed the impact of female authors on Emirati literature.

Iman Al Yousif, author of a series of Arabic stories, said there was a difference between stories and novels. “Novels contain multiple worlds, characters and many plots, while stories are shorter and straight to the point. It is not an easy task to write a story. On the contrary, the writing process has many challenges.”

Talking about her writing, she said: “I write to ask questions and at the same time, I write in order to hear myself.”

For her part, Saleha Obaid pointed out that there had been pioneering Emirati authors who had published amazing works in the past. “In 1971, a collection of stories by Emirati author Abdullah Saqr had defined the genre at that time. Personally, I cannot ignore or bypass it. On the contrary, I build on it and use it in an appropriate manner. My role as an author is to make the reader see and live what I am writing, and I strive to make the reader live that time that I lived in that story.”

Meanwhile, Nadia Al Najjar who has written several novels and children’s books, said: “I always question my role in the cultural movement and the part that I have to play in order to contribute and help advance it. I see that there are an increasing number of really good female authors, and this is very important. Creative work is an ecosystem and I am not the only writer or contributor to the cultural movement.”