A member of the Arab world’s transgendered community “ which is forced to operate underground, away from the eyes of the law and conservative society “ has defied the forces of repression and warnings from Islamist groups by publishing a memoir.

The Memoirs of Randa the Trans, written with Lebanese journalist Hazem Saghieh, details the author’s childhood and adolescence in her home country of Algeria, culminating in her decision to live as a transgendered woman. According to an article in the Sydney Morning Herald, Randa’s decision was met with threats against her life, but she persisted in her determination to live according to her individual choice.

“At some point I put two bottles of pills on my dresser and knew that I had a choice,” Randa, who was named Fuad at birth, told AFP in Beirut.

“I could either die now by taking the entire vial of medication, or start on the vial of hormones and live “ as a woman and with the possibility that I might die at the hands of someone else.”

Randa was eventually told that she had 10 days to leave Algeria or she would be killed, an ultimatum that forced her to flee to Beirut.

Randa’s memoirs were released this year in her adopted country, which the SMH describes as “relatively tolerant” and possessing skilled surgeons capable of overseeing the final stages of Randa’s sex-reassignment surgery.