Book Review: Isobel Coleman’s Paradise Beneath Her Feet

Last updated on: June 15, 2010 at 12:00 am By Azra

Isobel Coleman’s recently-released Paradise Beneath Her Feet: How Women are Transforming the Middle East presents a case-study of sorts, highlighting the work of Muslim women who are engaged in combating patriarchal culture as a means to change societal norms and achieve empowerment. A large part of Coleman’s argument emphasizes the role of Islamic Feminism, where a feminist lens is applied to orthodox Islamic interpretations, using a religious framework to fight patriarchal customs that subjugate Muslim women. The end result is... Read more

“Really Dutch:” On Consumerism and National Identity

Last updated on: June 14, 2010 at 12:00 am By diana

Al Nisa (Arabic for “the women”), a Muslim woman’s organization based out of the Netherlands, has found a new and eye-catching way to combat misconceptions about Muslim women in the Netherlands. In early May they launched their campaign titled, “Really Dutch.” This poster campaign features Muslim women, pictured wearing a headscarf, doing things which are “Dutch.” What is “Dutch,” you ask? According to the posters, drinking tea and eating herring are things which are indicative of one’s Dutch-ness. Leyla Çakir,... Read more

G. Willow Wilson: On Women, the Media, and Islam

Last updated on: June 11, 2010 at 12:00 am By Azra

Editor’s Note: Readers, since this has been a busy week of travel for me, I haven’t been able to put together a regular Friday links. But we’ve got a treat for you! Enjoy Raaz’s interview with G. Willow Wilson! In The Butterfly Mosque, G. Willow Wilson presents her own personal experience of her conversion to Islam and evolving understanding of womanhood, relationships, media, and culture. I had a chance to review her memoir and interview her. Here are my five... Read more

The Women of Indonesia’s Film Religi: Part II

Last updated on: June 10, 2010 at 12:00 am By alicia

Yesterday, we examined “the convert” and “the reformer,” two types of female characters in film religi. Today, we’ll examine three more: The ideal Who: Aisha, the niqabi with beautiful eyes in Ayat-ayat cinta (2008) and Anna Althafunnisa, the studious Al-Azhar graduate in Ketika cinta bertasbih (When love is an act of devotion, 2009). In most romantic dramas, we have the impossibly perfect female lead, which I will designate as “the ideal.” She is fresh in her twenties, conventionally beautiful, highly... Read more

The Women of Indonesia’s Film Religi: Part I

Last updated on: June 9, 2010 at 12:00 am By alicia

Film religi is an Indonesian cultural phenomenon quite unlike any other in Southeast Asia. It is a film genre that is focused on religion (mainly Islam) and its attendant hot issues like polygamy, deviant prophets, interfaith relations, and global ‘terrorism’. Riding on the popularity of the hugely successful Ayat-ayat Cinta (Verses of Love, 2008), a string of copycats followed. Mainly love stories, these films work on variations of the single, but winning formula: boy meets girl, a conflict that potentially... Read more

Ufone Commercials: the Positives and Negatives

Last updated on: June 8, 2010 at 12:00 am By sobia

While wasting time on YouTube, I recently came across a series of Pakistani commercials for the phone service Ufone. I tend to roll my eyes at the attempts of companies to get people’s money, but with Pakistani commercials it’s different. Watching Pakistani commercials remind me of the winter evenings I’ve spent in Pakistan, cuddled under the warm comforter with my aunts and cousins watching Pakistani or Indian dramas interspersed with wholesome, lively Pakistani commercials. As I watched one commercial after... Read more

Rowdy Saudis: MTV’s “Resist the Power: Saudi Arabia”

Last updated on: June 7, 2010 at 12:00 am By diana

As part of the True Life series, MTV recently aired an episode titled, “Resist the Power! Saudi Arabia,” in which the lives of several young Saudis were filmed. The show documents a handful of struggles experienced by Saudi Arabia’s large youth population. Among them, the show follows a young man named Ahmad in his fight to provide women a voice within Jeddah’s City Council and Fatima, a 20-year-old psychology student (pictured below), who is pioneering a colorful abaya line that... Read more

Friday Links — June 4, 2010

Last updated on: June 4, 2010 at 12:00 am By fatemeh

A Belgian court rules a company can fire woman for wearing headscarf. Bahrain hosts the region’s first sex shop. The Star profiles Huwaida Osman as she works to bridge gaps between Somali and Canadian societies. Arab News reports that Saudi society is to the blame for the country’s high female unemployment. Five female news presenters at the Al-Jazeera satellite television channel have resigned over conflicts with management. More from the Telegraph, The BBC researches the abuse of steroids in Bangladeshi... Read more

Power Laced with Femininity: Stereotypes and Female Bodybuilders

Last updated on: June 3, 2010 at 12:00 am By tasnim

Becca Swanson, bodybuilder, power-lifter, and pro-wrestler (who has been called “The Strongest Woman on the Planet”) writes on her site that she has “a burning desire to show the world my powerful physique laced with beauty and femininity.” This self-consciously anti-oxymoronic statement reflects the fact that female bodybuilders have often been subject to the most extreme form of antipathy against athletic women, as a result of the stereotype which labels physically powerful women as masculinized, or even aberrant. For Jordanian... Read more

The Lobby for Abu Dhabi — An Essay by Carrie Bradshaw

Last updated on: June 2, 2010 at 12:00 pm By Sara Yasin

Recently, Ms. Bradshaw traveled to the Emirates for a glamorous vacation with a few pals. Here, she recounts her thoughts about her time in Abu Dhabi. As I sit here in my sparkling new genie shoes, I am in a post-vacation glow. It was easy to become overwhelmed with the glittering luxury of our suite in Abu Dhabi, the cocktails, and the shopping. Upon returning from my trip, I could not help but be overwhelmed with a bit of patriotism.... Read more