Friday Links — March 14, 2008

Muslim feminist perspectives on International Women’s Day.

Muslim women in Hyderabad, India, earn income through group cooperatives and microfinancing.

Arab News looks at the difficult position of “married spinsters.”

Women scholars and activists in Lucknow, India, draft a female-friendly nikahnama.

Headscarf barrier lifted for those seeking Swiss citizenship.

The Mansoojat Foundation helps put on a fashion show for traditional Saudi Arabian clothing.

Arab News discusses the harmful implications of not allowing women to play sports.

Radio Farda correspondent Parnaz Azima has been convicted by an Iranian court of “spreading propaganda” and is sentenced to one year in prison.

Papiya Sultana Alam talks about training to be the first female police officer from West Bengal.

Inside Indonesia reviews Pieternella van Doorn-Harder’s book Women Shaping Islam: Reading the Qur’an in Indonesia.

A group of Arab websites campaign against the hejab.

A woman kills members of militants fighting against Al-Qaeda in Iraq.

Women for Women International reports that the situation for women in Iraq is a “national crisis.”

A woman is pressured by her family to be a wedding singer instead of a physician because it pays better. Priorities, people.

Saha profiles the Moroccan Women’s Song Project.

GlobalComment’s Natalia Antonova interviews Dilara Hafiz, author of The American Muslim Teenager’s Handbook.

A Saudi woman posts a video of herself driving on YouTube in an effort to elicit a positive response from the Saudi government. See the video here.

A woman gets her alimony after 20 years. Barikallah, at last!

A mufti in Saudi Arabia talks a university into canceling a marathon for women. Boo!

Imprisoned blogger Fouad al-Farhan’s daughter makes a heart-wrenching plea to see her father again.

The Iranian womens karate team feels prepared for this year’s Morocco International Women’s Karate Championship.

A young British woman who was forced into a marriage tells her story.

Strong opinions and pushes for women’s equality in Muslim countries.

Do you remember when a man was arrested after sending emails threatening to target Arab and Latino women in a shooting spree? Neither do I, because it wasn’t in the media.

Al-Falasteenyia writes about how International Women’s Day doesn’t solve things for women.

Former president Akbar Rafsanjani praises gains in women’s rights in Iran.

MRzine publishes a statement of solidarity with Muslim women facing war and occupation.

Saudi women refuse to let societal taboos hold them back.

Zainab al-Suwaij speaks about growing up in Iraq and co-founding the American Islamic Congress.

Saudi Arabia adds a female unit to the Commission for the Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice to patrol female-only areas.

A father sabotages his daughters’ chances at getting married.