Friday Links — January 25, 2008

Last updated on: January 21, 2012 at 2:44 pm By fatemeh

A Saudi woman’s parents annul her marriage without her permission because they claim she “married beneath her.” Bad form! A Muslim juror who wears niqab has been asked to remove it. Martina Sabra looks at Islamic feminism in Morocco. Qatari archer/racer Nada Zeidan urges more women to get involved in sports. Senay Özdemir argues that it’s healthy for young Muslim women to experiment sexually. Three Muslim women who feel their imam ignored their concerns because of their gender sue him... Read more

The View is Dark from Europe

Last updated on: December 8, 2011 at 11:35 pm By Muslimah Media Watch

NPR, or National Public Radio, currently has a series playing in regards to Muslim women, mainly those living in Europe – a continent in which Muslims are notorious for poor integration. The series, entitled Exploring the Status of Muslim Women in Europe, begins with an introductory story about the integration of Muslim women in Europe explaining how their integration is being seen as integral to the integration of Muslims in general. The first story in the series in on Muslim... Read more

A Web Picture of Muslim Women

Last updated on: December 8, 2011 at 11:35 pm By Muslimah Media Watch

One day, out of idle curiosity, I entered the phrase “Muslim women” into Google. Links to Wikipedia articles and organization homepages appeared, but what caught my eye was the row at the top: “Image results for Muslim women,” with a selection of three. My slow Internet connection made me wait for the pictures to load. The first was a photograph of two women in full black niqab. As the second loaded slowly, I expected to see a hijabi. No, just... Read more

No Respect, I Tell Ya

Last updated on: December 8, 2011 at 11:35 pm By Muslimah Media Watch

According to this news story, “sexy bombers” in the Philippines seriously threaten the nation’s safety. What makes these bombers sexy? They’re Muslim women. Yeah, that’s it. The story doesn’t mention why they’re termed sexy: do they wear sensual perfume and heavy makeup to entice victims? Do they wear revealing clothes so that victims are disarmed by their supposed physical charms? We’ll never know. The story only reports them as female members of an Islamic group in the Philippines. I guess... Read more

Give Women a Break!

Last updated on: January 21, 2012 at 2:44 pm By Guest Contributor

This piece, written by Abeer Mishkhas, originally appeared at Arab News. For the past two weeks, both Saudi and Egyptian papers have been writing about a single traffic accident. In two countries that have unusually high numbers of traffic accidents, so much attention to a single accident deserves a look. The reason for the extensive coverage was not the arrival of an alien on the streets of Cairo. In fact, the central player in the whole drama is Saudi... Read more

Friday Links — January 18, 2008

Last updated on: January 21, 2012 at 2:45 pm By fatemeh

Iranian woman designs clothes to make women feel fashionable and modest. Yoginder Sikand looks at reviving the tradition of madrassas for girls. A convenience store owner bans women wearing headscarves from entering because of “security concerns.” Pfff. The Peninsula looks at why governmental quotas won’t help women’s empowerment. The Los Angeles Times looks at women who move to Saudi Arabia to be with the men they love. Burqavaganza, a play that was banned in Pakistan, will run in Delhi. It... Read more

I have a crush on a boy in my Qur’an class

Last updated on: December 8, 2011 at 11:35 pm By Muslimah Media Watch

I thought since I haven’t written about Little Mosque on the Prairie for awhile, why not now? Last night’s episode dealt with crushes. Layla, Baber’s daughter, has a crush on a boy in her Qur’an class. She confides in Rayyan and Amaar on the condition that they not tell her father. Amaar wants to inform Baber whereas Rayyan thinks they should let it be and not say anything unless it gets serious. ( I wonder if him being a man... Read more

Missing the Point

Last updated on: December 8, 2011 at 11:35 pm By Muslimah Media Watch

The Egyptian film Heen Maysara (حين ميسرة) was released on Eid last year. Since then, it’s been making headlines in the English-speaking blogosphere. Could this be due to the film’s popularity at the box-office? Perhaps people are intrigued by its look at the slums of Cairo? But no. The coverage is on the negative attention Heen Maysara has received. Because of one same-sex scene, the film has been condemned by Islamic scholars for “spreading homosexuality and promoting debauchery,” according to... Read more

Label Makers: the Stereotype of the Middle Eastern Label Whore

Last updated on: December 8, 2011 at 11:35 pm By Muslimah Media Watch

Muslimah Media Watch thanks Latoya for the tip! Jezebel does an interesting review of Rajaa AlSanea’s Girls of Riyadh that focuses on the consumptive angle of the book; i.e., how obsessed with luxury goods upper class Saudi women are. While the review itself wasn’t a revelation (I think that an obsession with luxury goods is a stereotype or symptom of upper classes in many cultures), the comments were. Aside from the outright Islamophobic comments, there seems to be a general... Read more

Friday Links — January 11, 2008

Last updated on: January 21, 2012 at 2:45 pm By fatemeh

India’s first all-Muslim woman panchayat (or council) works to improve their village’s access to drinking water. (pictured below) Britain invests in educating Muslim women through management courses and programs that encourage educational and career opportunities, in an attempt to fight isolation and fanaticism in British Muslim communities. Muslim and Jewish women can now get halal/kosher prenatal vitamins in Canada. Comment is Free’s Khaled Diab examines why virginity and chastity take a harder toll on women in Egyptian society. Azerbaijan will... Read more