"Happiness", she explained, is when you feel well, light, creative, happy, when you love and are loved, and when you are free; when you're unhappy you feel barriers that crush talents and desires". A woman, she said, was happy when she could exercise all sort of rights like moving freely, being creative, challenge, and at the same time be loved because of this. Part of happiness was to be loved by a man that appreciated the strength and the talent of his partner, and was proud of her. Happiness involved privacy, the right to distance yourself from the company of others and to delve into a contemplative solitude; or the right to be by yourself and do nothing for a whole day, without having to justify yourself or feeling guilty. Happiness was to be with those you love, but as a separate being, not there only to make others happy. Happiness was, finally, the balance between what you give and what you receive.
From "Dreams of Trespass", by Fatima Mernissi