Not all stories are epic. They can be as simple as a mother-daughter story like A Thousand Splendid Suns, that takes place in Afghan society. Or else, a story about three generations of Palestinian women, as what I have read in Etaf Rum's novel A Woman is No Man.
The title of the novel, by itself, is telling a good story.
And yes, that would be an immediate answer to any Palestine girl who asks why she can't do so-and-so.
"Because. You can't compare yourself to your brothers. You're not a man."
"Fair or not, no girl is going to college."
"A woman will always be a woman."
Although I can't find a satisfying ending from the novel, I have witnessed the courage of a storyteller who speaks up and shows us the unsettling culture. And no matter how difficult it would be, we will come across someone like Malala Yousafzai. One day, if not now.
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