When Zeinab Hafni titles her novel "Have You Heard My Talk?", she is certainly referring to the man this novel speaks about—the Eastern man. Meanwhile, the woman in question transitions from one frustration to another, with her destiny shaped by the man and her future controlled by customs and traditions. All she has left is storytelling, which the novelist does on behalf of her characters and herself.

Zeinab Hafni narrates the stories of Arab women, be they Egyptian or Saudi, through two major stories—the story of Faiza, the narrator of events, and Safaa, her cousin. Additionally, there are other moderate or short stories featuring characters like Fatima, the maid Sharifa, and the psychiatric doctor.

In all these stories, women appear as victims of men, society, law, customs, or fate. However, women might also be partners in oppression, and men could be victims themselves. The differentiation between oppressor and victim is not gender-based but rather due to a masculine mentality present in both genders.

Thus, in this novel, Zeinab Hafni attempts to explore the veins connecting a woman's heart to her mind, her emotions to her desires, and her freedom to her life, rather than confining her within societal constraints, as says Ibn Rushd, "like plants grow and wither in their pots."