"Scheherazade Reimagined: Arab Women Writers, Power, and Storytelling"

Scheherazade survives by telling stories—but what happens when Arab women writers take her voice and reshape it for the modern world? In this episode, Andrea and Diana explore how literary icons like Hoda Barakat, Nawal al-Saadawi, Hanan al-Shaykh, and others reimagine Scheherazade as a figure of resistance, identity, and feminist power. Centering on The Tiller of Waters, they unpack how storytelling becomes a tool to challenge patriarchy, colonial legacies, and nationalism—especially through the complex relationship between Niqula and Shamsa. Tune in for a rich conversation on gender, narrative, and who gets to hold the mic in the Arab literary tradition.