Amidst these suffocations, I still encountered women who felt entitled to have fun, who aspired to greater control over their bodies and hearts. They believed in a woman’s unequivocal right to choose her own life. Some simply opted out of the lives their country and culture had set out for them and forged new paths. They used the money they earned to rent accommodation and VCD players. Their hard-won independence allowed them to possess their own mobile phones, bank accounts and email addresses.
