This post was written by guest contributor Yasmin N. Ali. I was seventeen years old when I first encountered, in full force, the hierarchies that are often built into many Muslim communities. Back then, I was fighting to make my debate team coed so I’d get one more year of experience before I graduated high school. I went to an Islamic school, and mixing with the opposite gender was frowned upon. Eventually, I succeeded in making my team coed while... Read more
This post was written by guest contributor Yasmeen Nizamy. “Sexual harassment is a crime that’s inexcusable!” This is the title of the campaign that HarassMap started recently, coinciding with the launch of their annual report on the latest statistics and analyses on sexual harassment in Egypt (the report is not yet available online, but I was able to get a copy from the founder of the initiative). HarassMap is an initiative that started in Egypt in 2010 with the mission... Read more
A few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to catch up with director of the documentary film “Hip Hop Hijabis,” Mette Reitzel, who followed the lives of UK-based hip hop duo, Poetic Pilgrimage. Poetic Pilgrimage consists of two Muslim convert women, Tanya Muneera Williams and Sukina Owen-Douglas, who have shaken the U.K hip hop scene. Combining their rapping and singing skills, these two women manage to beautifully intertwine their faith with their Jamaican culture and love for hip hop. To... Read more
Zainab Bangura from Sierra Leone is the new UN Special Rapporteur on Sexual Violence in Conflict; she says that her life story makes her confident that things can change, and that one day sexual violence will be history. She visited Somalia last week, where she stated that 70% of the sexual violence that takes place in the camps is actually done by men in uniform. The brutal murder of a young pregnant mother is the latest in a series of acts of violence against women in Mauritania; a... Read more
Last October, I wrote a post discussing FEMEN’s tactics to “liberate” Muslim women in France. Since then, FEMEN has hit the media again with their International Topless Jihad Day campaign, which was said to be in support of Amina Tyler, who despite her association with FEMEN has condemned the burning of Islamic symbols and the insults against Islam that went on during the demonstrations. (In addition, it is worth asking if Tyler got anything out of these protests or if... Read more
This post was written by guest contributor Rana Nazzal (@zaytouni_rana). I attended a talk last month by Palestinian woman and activist Yafa Jarrar as part of Israeli Apartheid Week at Carleton University. She spoke on a panel entitled “Indigenous and Palestinian women,” which addressed the struggles Aboriginal women in Canada and Palestinian women faced living under apartheid policies. Later, we sat down and discussed the topic of her lecture: Western feminism’s interest in Palestinian women in the armed struggle. The second... Read more
This post was written by guest contributor Maria Salman. In 1992, a young woman gathers the courage to pen a deeply personal journal entry for a teacher. She finally breaks the silence over an earth-shattering secret that she is the survivor of childhood sexual abuse committed against her by two male family members. Fast forward ten years, the police lays charges, and the trial begins, but when the young woman is called upon to testify, she is startled to find... Read more
This post was written by guest contributor Afia R. Fitriati (@AfiaRF) In a similar manner that social media helped to catalyze the Arab Spring, Indonesians are increasingly using social media such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube to reach out to others, build awareness of social issues, harness support and eventually create positive changes that the country needs. One of the forerunners in Indonesia’s social media activism scene is Mme.Fahira Idris. Born as the daughter of real estate tycoon and former... Read more
Last week on Maundy Thursday, Pope Francis I washed the feet of inmates in Rome, Italy, one of whom was a Muslim woman. The government of Kerala state, India has decided that women cannot go on hajj alone, after Aminakutty Mohammad demanded a court order so that she could perform the pilgrimage with a female companion. Yesterday, April 4th, was Topless Jihad Day, an initiative by FEMEN (who else), with demonstrations throughout Europe to support Tunisian activist Amina Tyler. As a response,... Read more
This post was originally posted at wood turtle’s blog. Two years ago, Mohsina Nosarka contacted me asking for feedback on an Islamic book series she was in the process of writing and illustrating. As I’m always on the lookout for new and exciting children’s Islamic literature, I gladly obliged. And since our initial contact, I’m thrilled to announce that she’s become a published author! Born in Johannesburg, South Africa, Mohsina relocated to Lusaka, Zambia after she got married. When she’s not writing,... Read more
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