Well, readers, I’m feeling an interesting combination of exhausted and giddy at the moment after my graduation today, which doesn’t lend itself well to my usual snarky media critique. I won’t even try. Instead, I’m going to point you in the direction of this article (mentioned recently on MMW’s Twitter feed), so that you can feel all happy and warm and fuzzy, too. Half the reason for this is because the picture accompanying the story is just so darn cute... Read more
Back in early 2008, the Hariri Foundation’s Women Empowerment Program wanted to start a national campaign addressing Lebanese society—all its classes, religions, and cultural backgrounds—with one goal: that the idea of “women’s rights” is not a prestigious cliché, but a value and a part in our daily life. So they hired Leo Burnett to do that in a low-cost way that stays away from religious issues. In his interview with Nathalie Bontems, Bukhara Mouzannar, the executive creative director at Leo... Read more
A substantial amount of the media critiqued at MMW involves Muslim women being viewed as part of a minority. As flawed as it often is, one wonders if the media in Muslim majority countries may make fewer missteps. Moving on from that possibility, what about countries which have an interpretation of Islam as their legal and constitutional basis? With satellite and online media rapidly expanding, it is possible to explore this theory. Press TV is an English language new channel,... Read more
Salam waleykum, readers! We’ve had a reduced posting schedule this week because I’ve been swamped with traveling and other things. But don’t worry: next week, we’ll be back to our regular schedule: same MMW time, same MMW channel! Read more
This post was written by Sabria Jawhar, and originally appeared at the Saudi Gazette and at her personal blog. Something got lost in all the outrage last week over the conviction and lashing sentence of the 22-year-old Saudi woman journalist, Rozanna Yami. Something got lost in all the outrage last week over the conviction and lashing sentence of the 22-year-old Saudi woman journalist who worked for the Lebanese Broadcasting Corp (LBC). What exactly is the LBC doing to support their... Read more
Liaison Dangereuse, a German online lingerie store, recently released a new video advertisement. With Arabic-sounding music in the background, a woman is shown getting out of the shower (we can see, from the back, that she has no clothes on), putting on her make-up, then walking (wearing nothing but high heels–to each her own, I suppose) to her dresser, where she puts on her underwear, bra and socks, all the while looking at herself in the mirror. Last (anyone see... Read more
The Daily Beast profiles female entrepreneurs in Afghanistan. Via Jezebel. Nesrine Malik writes about the “harassment disease” facing Egypt. AFP discusses the dangers for Somali women in refugee camps. Kuwait slides down the Global Gender Gap Index for the third year in a row. But Kuwait has the other Gulf countries to keep it company. A Sudanese court sentenced two other women to 20 lashes for wearing pants. The Vice President of Royal Jet’s Human Resources and Corporate Support Department... Read more
Following the election of two British National Party (BNP) MEPs in the 2009 European elections this summer, a representative of the BNP was invited onto one of the BBC's flagship political debate television programmes on this Thursday (22nd October). Read more
Today is Pink Hijab Day, a day to encourage awareness of breast cancer in conjunction with National Breast Cancer Awareness Month in October. Pink Hijab Day was founded in 2007 by a group of Muslim women from Missouri who wanted to promote Islam and breast cancer awareness at their high school. In the couple of years since its inception, Pink Hijab Day has expanded both across the United States and across the world. From the Day’s website: Pink Hijab Day... Read more
A thin square of shiny polyester is the main player in Atiha Sen Gupta’s play, What Fatima Did. The plot focuses upon the sudden decision of a non-religious young woman to wear hijab. An insightful and funny look into the reaction of those around her, the play asked some very good questions about identity, religion, and culture. Despite not being a Londoner myself, I could relate to some of the struggles depicted. However, what was noticeably absent from the play... Read more
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