Honour and virginity are the bait by which the daughter of a less privileged family can catch a rich husband who is out to find a commodity never consumed before. In my dramatic work, I try to focus on the romanticism that dominates the dreams of young girls. They fabricate images of male chivalry, which they then confer on the world of men and come to believe their own creation. The contradiction between ideal and fact is a fatal one, she believes. The man adored through a haze of romanticism does not correspond with the choice dictated by the would-be bride's calculating mind.
Women therefore tend to lie to themselves, to their husbands and to society.
In this as in other works, Al-Ashqar's approach is seen as daring. She recognises virtue but not modesty. It is certainly a difficult equilibrium. I love beauty, and its sublime principles seem to protect me from the abyss of vulgarity. The aesthetic values in my work are the safeguard of my bold and daring discourse.