Zahra Barri talks ‘Daughters of the Nile’ & Writing Career

When novelists make their debut in the world of literature, the result is often a talented individual and an engaging story.

With her first novel, Daughters of the Nile, the author and stand-up comedian Zahra Barri ticks both of those boxes.

The story explores the inter-generational sagas of Muslim women. 

In 1940s Paris, Fatiha Bin-Khalid’s life changes forever when she befriends the Muslim feminist Doria Shafik.

As Zahra transports us to 1960s Cairo, Fatiha’s daughter Yasminah deals with the societal repercussions of having a bisexual boyfriend. 

Finally, in Bristol in 2011, Nadia battles an identity crisis and a devastating case of herpes. 

The lives of the three women intertwine to create a thought-provoking story. 

In our exclusive interview, Zahra Barri shares some insights into her career and her fascinating novel, Daughters of the Nile.

What inspired you to write Daughters of the Nile?

I was inspired by my Egyptian family and my grandmother in Cairo. 

I was also reading about Doria Shafik and lots of Egyptian feminists at the turn of the century. 

I read Doria Shafik’s biography and I was so moved by it that I knew I wanted to incorporate her into my novel which is about an Egyptian family. 

So that’s how it came about. I just put her into my Egyptian family.

What inspired you to tell Nadia’s story and incorporate herpes into her narrative?

Nadia is a Muslim immigrant of the second generation. She’s in both worlds – she’s got her Muslim family but she is also living a Westernised life.

She has also had a lot of trauma and the herpes is symbolic of her hedonistic lifestyle. 

She thinks it is empowering but it is destroying her body.

Nadia’s narrative in Daughters of the Nile is her thinking she needs to turn away from her Muslim family to find empowerment.

But what she needs to do is turn towards them to find it. That’s her battle to find her identity.

Nadia has herpes and Yasminah has a bisexual boyfriend. Do you think these issues are still taboo in the South Asian community?

I can’t speak for the South Asian community really because I’m Egyptian but what I wanted to prove in this book is that there is tension between Islam, bisexuality, and homosexuality.

But there is also tension between Christianity and homosexuality. So what I wanted to do was write a book that would harmonise Islam and bisexuality and not the obvious rejection of it.

It’s about a journey of accepting being bisexual, homosexual, and Muslim and they can work in harmony.

I don’t think herpes is accepted in any community. It’s like a device to show that we can destroy our bodies.

Nadia is in denial and she is not accepting that perhaps she is having sex for the wrong reasons and herpes is a symbolic embodiment of that trauma.

Bisexuality is also a symbol of how a lot of immigrants feel that they are in both worlds.

It was used like that but I really wanted to read a book that was not having Islam in the way of being bisexual.

You can be bisexual and Muslim. 

As a writer, how important was it for you to intertwine humour with these issues?

I naturally write about dark things in a comedic way and I think it’s my love for comedy and tragedy that I like to combine.

Life is full of comedy and tragedy and I am really drawn to some things that can be very tragic but then with time, it gets better.

You know that saying – ‘You’ll laugh at this one day’? – I really do think that comedy and tragedy are interlinked. 

What really helps with life is if you can laugh at the bad stuff. Life is full of laughter and tragedy and that is what I wanted to embody in The Daughters of the Nile.

Yes, these subjects can be really dark and heavy but they can also be very funny and can give you a perspective to laugh.

What inspired you to become a writer and how important do you think stories are in this age of social media?

I really like the long form of a book. It’s the opposite of social media which is quick entertainment.

I also like that literature can help people empathise with the situations of other people and I feel the power of writing.

It can have more effect on empathy levels towards Muslims especially with all the recent stuff in the news about Islamophobia and things like that.

I really wanted a Western reader to get into the shoes of these women and empathise.

I think that almost has a bigger impact than if you do a 10-second TikTok video or even try and speak politically. 

I do believe in the power of literature to change politics. It may be slower than having a big revolution or going on a protest.

It might feel slower but I think most politics can be solved by just having empathy for people who have a different life from you. 

I think that is what happens when I write – I feel like I’m creating a character that will create empathy for that person.

How did stand-up comedy lead to your career as a novelist?

I was doing stand-up for about 10 years and all the subjects that I was joking about were mostly sex, Islam, and feminism.

I realised that those were the three topics that I was drawn to and really wanted to write about.

Then, I entered a competition called Comedy Women in Print which is run by Helen Lederer from Absolutely Fabulous.

She realised that female comedy writers don’t get a lot of recognition. So, she set up an award.

From that competition, I decided that I would write a comedic novel. Then, I got the runner-up prize which was to get an MA in Creative Writing.

I did the MA and I wrote Daughters of the Nile and I entered it into Unbound and it won.

I do owe my novel writing to my comedy career because it taught me how to write funnily and how to write about the subjects I wanted to talk about as well. 

What writers have inspired you in your journey?

So many people! Everyone from the stand-up comedians Sarah Silverman to Nicky Glaser. 

There are writers such as Erica Jong and Henry Miller. I absolutely adore him.

I recently read an incredible book called Fundamentally by Nussaibah Younis which is going to be out in February 2025.

I love anything comic, tragic, and philosophical. I don’t read very many classics but Henry Miller is the author that I go for. 

What advice would you give to people who want to become novelists?

I think that writing a book can be quite daunting as the prospect feels so long.

But if you do a little bit every day, you will eventually have a novel.

You have to really love it and the writing process. Do a little bit each day and it’s quite rare that I don’t write a bit every day even if it’s just 200 words.

It’s just about doing it every day, chipping away at it, and getting better each day. 

It’s like when you learn an instrument, you’re not going to get better unless you practice every single day.

When I had piano lessons, I would never want to practice every day.

But with writing, I do want to practice and you do see the benefits from doing it every day. 

How has a published novel changed you as a person?

It has changed my confidence levels – I suffered quite badly from Imposter Syndrome and it almost feels like you’ve had a baby. It feels like my legacy to the world.

It is very humbling because there are so many books in the world and you’ve just added to that conversation in a very small way.

I honestly love it – my anxiety levels have decreased exponentially. Before the book came out, I was so nervous.

Now that it’s out and people are responding well, I feel very calm, at peace, and very grateful that I had this opportunity. 

Can you tell us anything about your future work?

I’m already thinking about my second novel which is hugely exciting.

I’ve been working on Daughters of the Nile for two or three years. It’s so nice to start something new and get excited about an idea.

I do have an idea. I’m probably not going to share it with you because I’m a bit superstitious but I have started writing very slowly.

I’m very excited that I’ve started introducing new characters. I am going to focus more on it when I finish my PhD which is in December 2024.

I’m just hugely excited that I’m starting a new idea. It is really nice when it is fresh and I’m doing the research at the moment.

That is a very nice place to be where you’re just letting yourself think about things.

What do you hope readers will take away from Daughters of the Nile?

I wrote the novel to address cliches that were perpetuated by mostly the Western media.

I hope that I have created three women that people can see and understand instead of reading disinformation.

I wanted to give hope to LGBTQI Muslims and Christians. It is possible to be religious and gay and that’s okay.

Everyone should live their truth and not judge people by how they look.

I want to expose a history that is not talked about. It’s a forgotten history of Doria Shafik.

She was written out of the press so I wanted to put forward a counter-history and give her the legacy she deserves.

Daughters of the Nile is an enchanting and everlasting story filled with hope and difficult decisions. 

Zahra Barri’s ability to weave compelling drama around issue-led narratives shines through in the book.

Published on June 6, 2024, Daughters of the Nile is rich with emotion and promises to take readers on an unforgettable journey.

You can order your copy here.