July 7, 2020

“When we lived with my family in Northern Iran, the area under our loft was filled with my parents’ books. My father was eager about Kurdish literature and was actively trying to improve that language and my mother was also a good reader despite raising three children.
When she was pregnant with me, she read the (Kelidar) novel by Mahmoud Dowlatabadi. So, under the influence of that book, she decides to name me (Maral) but my father suggests the name (Zhina), so they name me that.
When we returned to Kurdistan with my family, I emerged as a civil activist and journalist and later I established the Zhira bookstore that I thought was suitable for me.
If you think that you are living at the cruelest period in history, then by merely skimming through the lines of this book you will realize that many periods in history were far worse and harsher. Books will place you in reality and will create a certain balance in your thoughts, and selling books is a diverse and free work, with no regards to gender or nationalities, it gathers different ideas of which you are free to choose from.”