Among her most notable works is Ana Ahya (I Live) (1958) which tells the story of a woman's protest against parental authority and community leaders.
[1] Her desire to push back against societal values and explore alternative female identities made Balabakki a large influence on contemporary Arab feminism.
[3] Even though Balabakki eventually left university for this job, the experience enabled her to awaken a political perspective and form her own ideas about the government's role in shaping a social culture that subjugated Arab women.
Quotes like these suggest that the oppressive nature of the father figure and patriarchal society function to inhibit and inspire feminist rebellion.
Though eventually acquitted, this controversy marked the end of Balabakki's fictional work,[5] as she spent the remainder of literary career as a journalist in Beirut.
[7] Novels 1958 – Ana Ahya (I Live) 1960 – Al-Aliha al-mamsukha (The Gods Deformed) Short Stories 1963 – Safinat hanan ila al-quamar (The Spaceship of Tenderness to the Moon)