Layla Balabakki

Layla Baalbaki (; 1936 – 21 October 2023) was a Lebanese novelist, journalist, activist and feminist. Among her most notable works is Ana Ahya (I Live) which tells the story of a woman's protest against parental authority and community leaders. Balabakki's literary work also inspired political uproar because of her public criticisms of Islam and sexually explicit stories. Balabakki was brought to trial, while her work was censored. Her desire to push back against societal values and explore alternative female identities made Balabakki a large influence on contemporary Arab feminism.

Early life and education Born to a traditional Shiite Muslim family in 1936, Balabakki grew up in Beirut. Throughout her adolescence, Balabakki quickly understood that female education was not valued. Despite this obstacle, she pursued higher education at the Beirut Jesuit University where she studied literature. On the side, Balabakki worked as a secretary in Lebanese Parliament. Openly rebelling against her father and the bourgeois class, Lina aggressively seeks liberation from her feminine identity. She finds refuge in the writings of Sartre, exposing herself to Western literature and existentialist thought. Despite her family's objections, Lina goes to work and to university, where she meets and falls in love with Baha, a communist. However, Lina's intellectual ideals do not translate into her reality. The Lebanese vice squad actually traveled to every bookstore where the book was sold to confiscate all remaining copies because of its erotic content. Though eventually acquitted, this controversy marked the end of Balabakki's fictional work, She pointed how Lebanese youth grow up to "be ashamed of their bodies and to fight every sensation" that erupts from sexual curiosity.