Saudi women activists are calling on the government to end the “absolute authority” that male guardians have over women in the kingdom. The petition is said to have been sent to a human rights committee. FIFA, the organisation that governs soccer/football, has authorised the wearing of religious head wear, such as hijabs and turbans, during matches. Last Saturday, 33 were killed and over a 100 injured in a knife attack by Uyghurs in a Chinese trainstation in the city of Kunming.... Read more
“This book is about what lies behind such deceptively simple responses to problems we think we already understand or believe that we should act on even before we understand.” – Lila Abu-Lughod When Muslimah Media Watch started out in 2007, one of the goals was to be able to create a platform for self-identified Muslim women to be able to critique portrayals and stories about us and our communities in mainstream media. Comment and speaking for ourselves was a novel... Read more
For many years now, countries around the world have been faced with the question of minority rights and religious accommodation. In Canada, where I currently live, questions about niqabs in courtrooms, voting stations and citizenship ceremonies have been raised in the past five years. Part of the debate has been the meaning of religious accommodation, the latest case being that of a student at York University who requested to be excused from working with females on religious bases. While the... Read more
Activists describe the situation of women detainees in Egypt as “horrific” and much worse than under Mubarak; many of the recent detainees are young women and even minors, who face sexual abuse, torture and harsh treatments. War widows in predominantly Muslim southern Thailand often face a heavy burden, but in a protected village of widows they find a community and support. One village in Pakistan’s Sindh province is giving sex education to its female students, which covers topics such as marital rape,... Read more
I didn’t know what to expect when I first picked up Jennifer Zobair’s debut novel, Painted Hands. Chicklit isn’t really my thing — and it was sold to me as a “Muslim chicklit” — even though highly appraising endorsements found on the back cover call this novel, “a positive portrait of Muslim women” and an “important addition to the canon of ethnic fiction.” I’ve never seen Sex In the City; when it comes to fiction, I’m more interested in sci-fi/fantasy,... Read more
Jehane Noujaim’s recent film, Al-Midan (translation: The Square), follows a group of Egyptian activists—many who are filmmakers and photographers themselves— involved in their nation’s ever-changing revolution(s) over the past couple of years. The film is beautifully shot, as Noujaim both follows the activists’ lives and has them describe their hopes for freedom and change as they move in and out of Tahrir Square. The film, which was picked up for release by Netflix, has been nominated in the “best documentary”... Read more
On February 16, 2014, Khaled Almaeena announced his resignation as head of the editorial team of the Saudi Gazette, and appointed Somayya Jabarti as the first woman editor-in-chief in the history of the Saudi press. In a tweet, Almaeena said: “For 25 years, I have been looking for the best journalistic skills and qualifications, and today, my dream comes true in appointing a qualified woman to head the editorial team of a Saudi newspaper.” For those who don’t know Jabarti,... Read more
Radio Amina and Aisha’s Song are two documentary-style short films produced by Grain Media, a London-based production company, as part of the Girl Effect campaign, a movement that states that the 250 million adolescent girls who live poverty are the most powerful force for change on the planet. Following that theme, Radio Amina and Aisha’s Song focus on two young girls in Kano, the bustling metropolitan Northern Nigerian city. Both films give us glimpses into the lives of underprivileged girls... Read more
Last week was Valentine’s Day, and for some Muslims this is, and has been, a heated topic. Islamic leaders in countries such as Uzbekistan, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia and Turkey have spoken out against the celebration, saying that it leads to fornication, “baby-dumping” and general immorality. In Uzbekistan, students were “asked” to sign contracts affirming that they won’t celebrate Valentine’s Day. Salafists in the Gaza Strip have tried to halt the celebration of Valentine’s Day by campaigning against it, but for many Gazans Valentine’s... Read more
“This is a man adored by Egyptians. And if he wants to take four wives, we’re at his service.” The man in question is none other than the Egyptian Minister of Defense, General Abd ElFattah Al-Sisi (promoted recently to Field Marshal), and the “we” in “we’re at his service” refers to Egyptian women, according to an open proposal that was declared by the Egyptian columnist Ghada Sherif in an article last July, a few days after the call by the... Read more
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