Happy International Women’s Day! As a publishing company powered by women, we have a mission to feature female authors. In honor of today, we are celebrating someone who inspires our work: Asmaa al-Ghoul.

Her book, A Rebel in Gaza, was featured in the latest issue of Women’s Review of Books. Israeli-born writer Hagar Scher sheds light on the conflict in Gaza and Asmaa’s “act of courage” in penning her memoir:

A stirring account of bravery and resistance in our time. [Al-Ghoul’s] slender memoir paints a picture of a woman who has stuck to her convictions despite harassment, ostracism, verbal abuse, surveillance, physical violence, and death threats. Al-Ghoul’s unfiltered and vivid dispatches are themselves an act of courage. […] Her book feels like an invitation to connect at a level that transcends or, more accurately, runs deeper than our divides.

[…]

Al-Ghoul uses […] stories to make a crucial intersectional observation about the experiences of women in conflict zones. […] Along with the many free thinkers in her family, al-Ghoul credits her love of books for allowing her to rise above rigid and regressive belief systems. […] A Rebel in Gaza is […] a testament to the power of lived experience and to the importance of sharing stories if we are to shift our collective consciousness.

[…]

Al-Ghoul dares to build bridges, to pierce through propaganda, stereotypes, and bigotry, and to provide multicolored snapshots of a conflict that’s too often presented in superficial black-and-white sketches. Her stunning book celebrates women’s role in resisting hatred, in affirming life while oppressive patriarchal regimes perpetuate war and death. It’s a powerful self-portrait of a woman who refuses to cave, who, in fact, chooses to put on a ruby-colored dress and stand out from the crowd: a rebel from Gaza and for a more just world.

This month is Women’s History Month, so grab the latest issue of Women’s Review of Books to read more about Asmaa and the many other powerful writers featured in the issue, including one of our personal favorites, Cherríe Moraga.