Friday Links | March 18, 2011

• A Lebanese politician calls Saudi women “trash bags” and then hurriedly backpedals.

• Hilarious satire about a Pakistani ban on bras is presented as fact by American outlet.

• This week, the Virginia Festival of the Book aimed to go beyond flat stereotypes of Muslim women.

• Three thousand Muslim women attended a seminar on employment in Dadar, India.

• The Huffington Post goes over the history of women’s reforms (or lack thereof) after revolutions in the Middle East.

• A federal appeals court ruled that a Muslim woman in California can sue the county where she was ordered to remove her headscarf in a  courthouse holding cell.

• One of Nicholas Kristof’s Win a Trip finalists is a Muslim American woman from Seattle.

• Now the Dutch want to get in on the hijab-banning bandwagon.

• IPS describes the horrid conditions that female Palestinian prisons endure.

• Al Qaeda publishes a lady mag. Uh…you go, girl…? Mona Eltahawy writes about it.

• Nawal El Saadawi honored among The Guardian’s top 100 feminists.

• Chechen hardliners impose an Islamic dress code on women with paintball guns.

• WLUML covers the West Bank Civil Disobedience Conference, which hosts Israeli and Palestinian women.

• AltMuslim profile Malaysian musical sensation Yuna.

• IPS covers Pakistan’s unwanted babies and women’s inability to leave home.

• Karachi hosted a four-day seminar entitled “Muslim Women: Through the lens of history, religion, law and society.”

• Activist Angkhana Neelapaijit says Muslim women in southern Thailand face discrimination by civil and religious law.

• The NYT looks at traveling to Saudi Arabia while female.

• Shanna Bukhari hopes to be the U.K.’s first Muslim Miss Universe.

• The Arab News reports that the growth of women in Islamic finance remains a challenge.

• Dr. Rahat Abrar releases book “Muslim Female Education: From Veils to Moon.”

• A Muslim woman was escorted of a Southwest flight because of her hijab. And Muslimness.

• Model/rapper Shakur talks about her background, her faith, and her professional aspirations.

• ILLUME interviews Muna Abu Sulayman.

• Iraqi women feel shunted despite election quota.

• AltMuslimah looks at incest as abuse.

If you’ve noticed any stories about Muslim women we’ve missed from this week, feel free to post links in the comments!