Afghan Shi’as rallied for the passing of the women’s law in Kabul. A widow and several other men and women in Bangladesh were whipped according to a women and children repression prevention act. The BBC highlights two sisters who design couture abayas in Dubai. More here. Via Hijab Style. A Moroccan woman is Spain’s first Swine flu death. Via Islam in Europe. A statement from members of the women’s movement in Iran. Bahrain offers women no protection from marital rape.... Read more
This is a slightly edited version of an article written by Sahar, which originally appeared at Nuseiba. You can also read Yusra’s take on the debates. Recently, I saw the Doha Debates, which is a show that debates controversial political, social and religious issues. Journalist and mediator Tim Sebastian proposes a motion and the speakers on the panel discuss the topic at length. The audience then has an opportunity to respond to the panel. The latest motion proposed: “This house... Read more
This was written by Elise Auerbach and originally published on Human Rights Now, the Amnesty International USA blog. Ordinarily, human rights activists would be pleased when the rare major motion picture shining a light on human rights violations comes along. In fact, aside from documentaries, it is very unusual to see issues that Amnesty International has worked on appear on film. However, sometimes a film can so distort an important human rights issue, that it may do more harm than... Read more
Skunk Girl is Sheba Karim’s first novel. It is told from the point of view of 16-year-old Nina Khan, self-described as “a Pakistani Muslim girl” and from a small white town in upstate New York. Although published in 2009, the story is set in approximately 1993. In a fast-paced, entertaining read, Nina narrates her life and drama as the only Pakistani and Muslim girl in her high school. She deals with worries about school and boys, as well body hair... Read more
As I’m sure many of you have seen already, French President Nicolas Sarkozy said last week that he supports a commission to consider banning the wearing of burqas in public places. Here are some excerpts of his speech, quoted from this article: “We cannot accept to have in our country women who are prisoners behind netting, cut off from all social life, deprived of identity,” Mr. Sarkozy told a special session of parliament in Versailles. “That is not the idea... Read more
On the death of a young Iranian woman named Neda: analysis from Time, Jezebel, the Los Angeles Times, the Guardian, A suspect has been arrested in connection with a suspected honor killing in Chechnya. An obscure Al-Azhar decree says that “misyar” marriage is acceptable. The story of a survivor of sexual abuse and her continued struggles to have the Saudi Arabian judicial system protect her. Iran is considering abolishing legislation that makes stoning and amputations part of criminal law. More... Read more
Neda Agha-Soltani was fatally shot during a protest in Iran on Saturday, June 20, 2009. May God give her peace and justice. Several news outlets have reported on her death, and several opinion-makers have heralded her tragic end as a martyrdom for Iran’s opposition movement. In Iran, this may be true: Neda’s death may garner more support and energy for the opposition movement that has been somewhat floundering for the last few days. While I understand that every movement needs... Read more
Sophie Ashraf, also known as The Burkha Rapper, is an Indian Muslim female rapper for whom Muslim identity seems central to her art. This comes across clearly in her following statement on the Blind Boys website: Its like when you really like a band, you wear T-shirts of that band, Well we really, really like Islam, so we wear the burkha. I rap because I cant sing. But I love music, so it had to be rap. Soon, the burkha... Read more
I wrote last week about a positive portrayal of a Muslim woman who had recently been voted president of a mosque. I’m going to stick with the positive stuff for at least another week (although, considering the state of global media portrayals of Muslim women, this probably won’t last too much longer) and talk about a recent Toronto Star article about Kamala Suraiyya, a Muslim poet and writer from southern India, who has recently passed away. Cleo Paskal, the journalist,... Read more
There is already a consensus amongst Islamic scholars that makes this debate illegitimate based on the Quran and the Sunnah, therefore the debate rather futile unless you can undoubtedly prove that it is not Islamically illegitimate-something neither the proponents or opponents did. Read more
Muslimah Media Watch
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In