Hijab Removal, Iranian Women, and Freedom of Dress

May 26, 2014 by
Image via the My Stealthy Freedom Facebook page.

This post was originally published at Aquila Style.The liberal feminist organisation Femen and its members’ naked breasts have had their media run. Now a more modest sort of uncovering is happening, this time in Iranian social media. Last month, London-based Iranian journalist Masih Alinejad started a movement on Facebook and Twitter, translated as “My Stealth Freedom”, to highlight the “legal and social restrictions” faced by women in Iran.Secular and Muslim women all over Iran are p … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Culture/Society, Photography, Social Media, Web Tagged With: , , , ,

Countering the “Musulmacho:” Drawing the Line between Humour and Inappropriate Commentary

March 12, 2014 by
pearl

A few months ago I was invited to like a Facebook page called Memes Feministas Islámicos. The page targets mostly Spanish speakers, and it claims to be countering Muslim patriarchies online. Their “About us” page reads: “Nos sumamos a la tarea de contrarrestar el machismo en el cyber espacio y al igual que nuestras compañeras feministas del mundo, nos reímos mientras desmantelamos Patriarcado en el Islam.”“We aim to counter macho-like behaviours online, and just like our feminist comrades ar … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Culture/Society, Web Tagged With: , , , , ,

Propelling Iran’s Bad Rep

May 2, 2013 by
"Rapture" by Shirin Neshat. [Source].

When I was growing up in a small city on Canada’s East Coast, many of my classmates had no idea where Pakistan was located. It was the mid-eighties and I was unable to convince them I was NOT Indian just because both my parents were born in India. I decided to do an extensive geography project on my home country. I used pictures from my own travels and maps my father collected, and added a lot of details. I carefully drew flags, brought in mithai (Pakistani sweetmeats) and Nazia Hussain tapes, a … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Culture/Society, Politics Tagged With: ,

Film Review: Unveiled Views

November 8, 2012 by
Moshagan Saadat. Image via Women Make Movies.

“When someone wants to be an artist, because they cannot let what’s going on around them stay the same, achieving fame in the world of art becomes unimportant.” –Alma Suljevic I am a lover of all art forms, including cinema; the Women Make Movies initiative, and the kind of varied and thought-provoking cinema they help produce, has always captured my interest.Alba Sotorra’s 2009 film Unveiled Views was a movie I could sit and proudly watch on my own, or even watch with family. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Cinema, Culture/Society, Film Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Facing Mirrors: Iranian Filmmaker Explores Trans* Identity in Iran

October 4, 2012 by
Facing Mirrors

Transgender identities and trans* embodiment are topics that are generally ignored within many communities, and the Muslim community is no exception, and transgendered people are oftentimes pushed to the margins.Art, film, music and other forms of artistic expression, unlike more fixed modes of understanding, can often open up a conversation that communities and individuals may be hesitant to explicitly explore. As I was cruising tumblr recently, searching for thought provoking and … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Culture/Society, Film Tagged With: , , , ,

Powerful Actors or Oppressed “Others”?: Violent Muslim Women in the News

October 2, 2012 by
Iranian women dressed all in black. Via Global Post.

In recent news, Muslim women have been highlighted for their violent actions towards in men in their society.While comparing different articles reporting on the incident of the unnamed Iranian woman (whom I will refer to as the Bad Hijabi for convenience) who beat up the cleric who policed her for her “bad hijab,” I couldn't help but marvel at the remarkably imaginative accompanying photos:Okay, women in Iran wear black chadors, we get it. But there’s a class and ideol … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Culture/Society, News Tagged With: , ,

The Right to Play or Creeping Sharia? FIFA Overturns its Headscarf Ban

July 16, 2012 by
Source: weareasia.com

FIFA has overturned its headscarf ban, enforced since 2007, on women playing soccer with their heads covered. Predictably, the French Football Federation issued an instant “this won’t happen here” communiqué, whereas Qatar, hosting the 2022 Olympics, commended the decision.FIFA’s decision has incited strong criticism online. All you have to do is read the comments in news articles (including the ones I have linked) or participate in discussions on social media (if you like coming face to face … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Sports Tagged With: , , , ,

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