Friday Links — May 9, 2008

• In an effort to curb Malaysian women used in drug trafficking, the Malaysian Foreign Ministry has proposed that all women traveling out of the country alone have a letter from parents or employers. And, unsurprisingly, this pisses off women. Via Feministing.

• The National Newspaper looks at the evolution of abaya styles.

• A Tunisian family sues a man who they claim raped their daughter over the phone.

• Iraq’s Hero Ibrahim Ahmed (Jalal Talabani’s wife) escapes a roadside bomb attack.

• Egypt’s National Council for Human Rights calls for women’s testimony to become equal to men’s.

• Saudi Arabia’s Labour Minister says there’s no shame for Saudi women to work as housemaids.

• Egyptian blogger Ghada Abdel Aal receives both criticism and praise for her blog.

• Pakistani beauty queen Mahleej Sarkari says she’d like to date President Musharraf. Via Islamify.

• The Post’s Amanda Teuscher tells western feminists to stay out of Muslim women’s hejabs.

• Ghana has one feisty woman rising through the ranks of politics.

• Indian Muslim women voice their opinions on the stereotype of Islam as a religion that is harmful to women.

• Muslim women redefine the western idea of feminism with modest clothes.

• The Carolina Cyclones kick some serious ass—in a gender segregated gym.

• Muslim women in California showcase their artistic talent.

• As more women enter the workforce, Saudi Arabia thinks about redrawing its workplaces.

• A Saudi princess lends her support to a conference calling for clearer rules against domestic violence.

• IslamOnline’s Nesma Abdel-Aziz interviews Rana Husseini about honor killings in Jordan and Norma Khoury’s book Forbidden Love.

• The Star Tribune’s Pamela Miller interviews Muslim lawyer Sumbal Mahmud.

• Antidrown talks about the “Oh My God!” factor and its role in the perception of Muslim women.

• The All-India Muslim Women’s Personal Law Board advocates for more women-only mosques and women-led prayers. The Islamic seminary is not down with this.
  

• The U.S. calls for stiffer penalties in Asian countries that participate in human trafficking.

• Two women in Malaysia work to nurture children and single mothers from their communities. Barikallah!

• Sunni Sister talks about the dumb things that Muslim women do to ourselves. Via Islamify.

• Indian actor Manayata refutes her ex-husband Meraj’s charge of adultery by using her khulla divorce.

• Women in Saudi Arabia campaign to hold weddings earlier in the day.

• Women in Afghanistan face serious health risks associated with childbirth. Via Islamify.

• Something that most of us already know: Islam doesn’t condone domestic violence.

• A court in Maryland rules that a man’s talaq divorce is not valid because it robs a woman her right to due process. YEAH! Via Talk Islam.

• Egyptian Gumbo dishes it out to a columnist who criticized her for getting her own column at her school newspaper.

• A Malaysian court granted a Muslim woman the right to renounce Islam. Via Talk Islam.

• Two Muslim women in Nepal are selected to be members of the Constituent Assembly. Barikallah!

• A German court orders a 12-year-old Muslim girl to attend co-ed swimming lessons, despite the protests of her parents.

• A 19-year-old Jordanian woman was sentenced to 15 years in jail for allegedly poisoning her family.

• Iraqi staff at the British Embassy in Baghdad have come forward with allegations that they’ve been sexually harassed and abused.

• Religious scholars and human rights activists in Saudi Arabia call for a minimum age for marriage after reports of child marriages in the media.

• Women from Indonesia’s Ahmadiyya sect share their experiences after their mosques were attacked.

• Nigerian Muslim women write and read romance novels with an Islamic educational twist.

• Andrea Useem for Slate takes a look at how putting on and taking of hejab in the U.S. speaks to the “religious mobility” of Muslim women.

Also, if you’re in the U.S., check out PBS’ documentary Stand Up: Muslim American Comics Come of Age. It will air on Sunday, May 11, at 10 pm EST. On Monday, we’ll have an interview with Maysoon Zayid and Tissa Hami, the two Muslim women profiled in the documentary.