You cannot do anything in this country without my permission.”

For sixteen-year-old Sara, life has always been about following the rules; her father’s rules.

Makeup? Haram.

Fashion magazines? Haram.

Friends who don’t meet his approval? Definitely Haram.

When her strict Egyptian dad moves the family to the Arabian Gulf, Sara’s world shrinks overnight. In a place where a woman’s freedom depends on a man’s permission, every dream feels out of reach. But Sara refuses to disappear quietly.

As her passion for writing, beauty and independence grows stronger, so does her courage to challenge the expectations that bind her. Can she stay true to her faith while finding her own voice, and a future she chooses for herself?

Candid, courageous and unforgettable, Hijab & Red Lipstick (second edition) is a powerful coming-of-age story about identity, patriarchy and the fight to belong – inspired by the experiences of women who dare to defy.