- A look at some of the organizations that are working to improve Muslim women’s lives.
- The Times of India profiles Daud Shabina Khanum, who came up with the idea for an all-women jamaat (court).
- A woman detonated her explosive vest in the Iraqi city of Baquba. May Allah give peace to the victims.
- Arab News looks at the need for women-only gyms in Saudi Arabia.
- A roadside bomb killed a young girl in the Pakistani city of Quetta. May Allah give her peace.
- Greek Muslims expresses frustration about non-Muslims who analyze what Muslim mena and women wear. Via Islamify.
- A young woman in Virginia has been murdered; the police have arrested a suspect. May Allah give her peace and justice.
- Islam in Europe updates us about the case of the woman who was allegedly murdered by her ex-husband and own son. May Allah grant her peace and justice.
- Olga Kokalits stole the limelight with her designs in a fashion show in the Ukraine. Via Islam in Europe.
- IslamOnline‘s Aisha El-Awady examines Arab women’s reasons for not exercising.
- The Auto Prophet ponders some of the differences between conservative Muslim dress and non-Muslim dress when the weather gets hot.
- Zainah Anwar writes a great piece on the appointment of Datuk Seri Shahrizat Jalil’s appointment as the Prime Minister of Malaysia’s Special Advisor for Muslim Women, and what this might actually mean for Muslim women.
- Sabria Jawhar discusses whether Saudi courts legitimize revenge for Arabisto.
- Jordan plans to distribute 1.5 million condoms as part of a birth control program.
- Human Rights Watch calls on Saudi Arabia to do more to prevent domestic worker abuses.
- The BBC does an interview with comedian Maysoon Zayid.
- Writeous Sister Speaks highlights the Southall Black Sisters, a “not-for-profit organization in the UK that has been providing culturally-sensitive and culturally appropriate services for women of color.” Via DeenPort.
- IslamOnline looks at wearing headscarves at school.
- Amira for MidEastYouth talks about marriage and things people should look for in prospective partners.
- Pakistan observed the death of Fatima Jinna on Tuesday.
- Anisa Abdullahi studies American’s fascination/fear of the headscarf by performing an experiment.
- A minister in Maharashtra, India, calls for separate commission and financial support for Muslim women.
- NPR airs the concerns that Iraqi women have working in places where weapons scanners essentially reveal a woman’s entire form. Fatemeh blogs about it here.
- The Vancouver Sun talks to women who wear the headscarf at work and how they feel it shapes their coworkers’ perceptions of them.
- Another story about the headscarf in Europe. (yawn)
- Women in Pakistan demand the rebuilding of a seminary that was destroyed in July 2007.
- Nzingha introduces us to Saudi weddings (and what she hates about them). Via Islamify.
- Greek Foreign Minister Dora Bakoyannis points out that secularism isn’t in danger because of headscarves. Via Greek Muslims.
- The Taliban in Pakistan says it had nothing to do with the destruction of a girls’ school and that it supports girls’ education. Uh huh.
- The National Post looks at Dubai’s sex trade. Via Islamify.
- Maher Sabry’s film Toul Omry (All My Life) is called “the first gay-positive, unapologetic
feature movie in Arabic.”
- Victims (many of them Muslim women) of the Gujarat riots of 2002 still wait for justice. May Allah reward them with it.
- Beyond effed up: a girl learns that her father sold her into marriage.
- The only woman on Afghanistan’s Olympic team, Mehboba Ahdyar, has gone missing. May Allah protect her.
- The Los Angeles Times looks at Egyptian author and feminist Sahar El-Mougy.
- The United Nations says it will investigate Benazir Bhutto’s death.
- A Dutch court has ruled that relatives of the victims of the Srebrenica massacre cannot sue the United Nations for failing to protect them.
- Women in Saudi Arabia can purchase vehicles. They just can’t drive them. BBC looks at the driving divide in KSA.
- Soumaya Ghannousi examines the stupidity of the term “Islamic threat.” Oogedy boogedy! Via DeenPort.
- Somali women leaders call for women’s active involvement in politics.
- In the male-dominated worlds of rap and hip-hop, female Muslim artists face difficulty gaining respect.
- CNN speaks with Nujood Ali and examines Yemeni customs regarding young brides.
- The leader of the Central Regional Federation of Muslim Women Association of Ghana states that there is no law the in Qur’an which prevents a Muslim woman from leading her people.
- France rejected citizenship for a Muslim woman from Morocco because they say her practice of “radical” Islam is not compatible with French values.
Tweet
Nice selection of articles and btw thanks for adding mine to this listAmira
Hey gals’ great articles, one of the articles made me really confused. It’s the piece by Zainah Anwar. After reading it over and over again, I asked myself why we always claim that Muslim women are not oppressed by their religion when clearly Islam is being used as a tool of abuse for women in Malaysia. I think I held back some vomit, especially on the part that the Domestic Abuse Act is a law only for the non-Muslim women of Malaysia “because of arguments that a Muslim man has a right to discipline his wife physically and that wife-beating was a family matter that should therefore come under the jurisdiction of the Islamic Family Law.” And all the other discriminatory laws established and apply only for Muslim women under the guise of their religion. WTF?????????? Why?Ladies, I really want to hear your opinion on this. How can we continue to be upset about the image of Muslim women as oppressed when it’s us Muslims that push these images? “there is greater awareness throughout the Muslim world that the problem is not with Islam, but with patriarchal Muslims who hide behind the sanctity of the divine message to perpetuate men’s perceived superiority over women.” ??????Wow. I’m left speechless! I just couldn’t believe what Muslim men in Malaysia are doing to Muslim women under the pretext of religion. I looked up some of Zainah Anwar work and also in youtube and it made me sick at what Muslim women have to go through. Ladies read some of these other laws that apply only to Muslim women, while non-Muslim women enjoy so many benefits. In Malaysia non-Muslim women have more rights than Muslim women. Why are Muslim women being put down through the use of their religion.Why are we not holding today’s Muslim men responsible for the unpleasent images of Muslim women as inferior and oppressed.Ya Allah, I can’t believe this!!! We’re being attacked from all sides non-Muslims and Muslims.
I need my sisters: My personal view is that Islam is misinterpreted and misapplied. The patriarchal institutions in Malaysia (and most other predominantly Muslim countries) teach and uphold a skewed version of Islam that is intended to keep men in power and take away women’s agency. It is not love and submission to God itself that is misogynist, but rather the twisting of Islam for personal and patriarchal ends. For example, the wife-beating verse. There are interpretations that don’t accept the term “daraba” means “to beat.” Here’s one I found: http://www.islamawareness.net/Wife/beating1.htmlHere's another one:http://www.free-minds.org/women/beating.htm
Laleh Bakhtier is a female Muslim who translated the Qur’an and also supports the translation of those verses as “to turn away” rather than “to beat.”This is her website, where she explains it in more detail:http://www.sublimequran.org/Her translation of the Qur’an is known as “The Sublime Qur’an.”Duniya originally told me about this
i need my sisters:I agree with you. Although I too believe that it is a certain interpretation that Muslims espouse when justifying violence against women, the fact is that Islam IS used to justify violence against women and it’s used by MUSLIMS. I have long been irritated by it’s use but I feel helpless then defending Islam when so many Muslims are the ones giving Islam a bad name. How much can I say that Islam is not the problem when Imams and scholars around the world “blame” Islam. I understand your frustration.
Zeynab, Brokenmystic and Duniya; Thanks for the site about Laleh Bakhtier’s Quran, sisters! I actually read about the controversy it caused a while back. And the reaction by Muslim of this interpretation was shameful. It was like “Woman, how dare you try to think differently about this verse etc etc ….” But alot of people also supported her and the different meaning. We just need more people to rattle the cages.
re: Virginia woman murderedI just saw the Facebook group created in honour of her memory and was shocked by the comment of an absolute ASSHOLE.In caps he derided the creator of the group for creating the group and posting her pictures up there because they are adding to her sins. This person claims that this girl is in enough fire already why are they adding to her fire.WHAT THE FUCK???!!! I’m sorry for the language but this PISSES ME OFF!! And I just had to vent here. How dare anyone assume they know about someone’s fate in the afterlife? This moron is a self-righteous, arrogant, SOB who doesn’t realize the danger of his own words. To claim that one knows what one’s fate is in the afterlife is claiming one has the knowledge God does. And Islamically what does that mean? Why are our people so Goddamn cruel?? Ugh!!!
I Need My Sisters:lol, I’m a brother
You’re welcome for the link!
Farheen: (sigh) REALLY? On the Facebook profile? Estaghfirallah. This reminds me of that post I wrote “Triple Threats and Double Troubles for Muslim Women” that talked about how difficult it was for us to find help and compassion in our own communities, but how difficult it is to find help, compassion, and cultural understanding outside of our communities. We gotta stick together.
Farheen,I know, I saw those kind of remarks too in that group page. I can’t believe some people. It’s so incredibly disrespectful and cruel to be preaching with that “holier than thou” mentality and telling people that they’re honoring her “wrong.” They’re arguing that Muslims shouldn’t read the Qur’an after someone dies…I would just kick these people out of the group. What happened was very tragic and her family and friends don’t need to be reading this kind of nonsense on a group that commemorates her! This is supposed to be a time of mourning and unity.This makes me sick because it represents how divided our Ummah is. This tragedy is not about what we think is “right” or what we want, it’s about HER and HER FAMILY and HER FRIENDS. Let them grieve in peace.Astagfirallah.
that Autoprophet post is insanely sexist. I suggest you read it again, it is beneath you guys to post this sort of thing. so modesty garners immediate respect does it? hah.
also an an Arabic speaker the immediate understanding of “darab” in such a context is “struck” or “beat”. i disagree with the sources of the examples she uses, but eh.
Forsoothsayer: you hit it on the head.
Excellent posts this week, and so numerous!While I have a ton of good to say, it’s easier to squeeze in my one not as pleased comment. The article comparing Muslin attire to non-Muslim summer attire — was it really necessary to degrade the bodies of non-Muslim women? There were points where the comparison seemed to become just body shaming, in itself a very ugly act. While we can all find truth in the unattractiveness of a revealed butt crack, we nonetheless shouldn’t shame other women and their bodies for the benefit of another group. That’s not progress, nor is it something to be proud of.