#ListenNotSave – Niqab in Canada

April 13, 2015 By shireen

Last month Canadian social media went wild with covering puns and jabs at the extraordinarily Islamophobic leader of the government, Prime Minister Harper. The Harper Government are challenging a ruling by the Supreme Court of Canada that allows Ms. Zunera Ishaq to wear her niqab at her Canadian Citizenship ceremony. A ruling that Harper insists he will challenge. According to the Prime Minister, Ms.Ishaq’s choice to wear niqab, as a practice of her faith, is unacceptable and baffling while joining the Canadian family.

“It’s very easy to understand,” said Harper in the House of Commons. “Why would Canadians, contrary to our own values, embrace a practice at that time that is not transparent, that is not open and, frankly, is rooted in a culture that is anti-women?”

For just one moment, let’s ignore the tragic irony (read: hypocrisy) that is Prime Minister Harper dictating what is allowable for women to wear. In his usual arrogant and misogynist tone, he declares that a woman in Canada, who chooses wearing niqab, should not be supported by fellow Canadians. Prime Minister Harper and his cronies, namely Defense Minister Jason Kenney and Citizenship Minister Chris Alexander, often make ridiculous and misinformed statements about Muslim women’s clothing. Let’s for another moment, imagine that Canadian women are perfectly fine with choosing their own clothes based on the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and well, basic fashion savvy. Immediately, Canadians took to their laptops and phone and took up a rallying cry of unapologetic wit and sarcasm with the hashtag #DressCodePM As important and hilarious as the tweets and posts are, a huge piece of this campaign is the #ListenNotSave hashtag that is reminding us to call out disingenuous rhetoric by the Harper Government under the guise of caring about the marginalization of women. The same Government that has failed to speak up and investigate the cases of over 1000 missing and murdered Indigenous women in Canada. #ListenNotSave was originally created by women of colour to speak to the injustices of Bill S7, the Barbaric Cultural Practices Act. #ListenNotSave was also a call to amplify the voices of the women who are being spoken *of* and not *to*. In the same way that at MMW we have extensively covered the topic of ‘saving’ Muslim women by ineffective policies and by saviourism. Tasnim, Eren and I read and reviewed Prof. Lila Abu-Lughod’s brilliant work in “Do Muslim Women Need Saving?” This book is a must-read for politicians and public representatives. Particularly those who engage in meaningless discussions about Muslim women’s choice of dress. (more…)

Friday Links

April 10, 2015 By samya

A local council in Victoria, Australia asked non-Muslim women to wear hijabs to raise awareness and combat islamophobia, stirring controversy.

A group of Muslim Pakistani-American women are pushing the boundaries on how Muslim women are perceived, especially when it comes to the comedy scene. They say: “Nobody expects Muslim women to be comedians.”

Global life stories: capturing Muslim women’s lived realities is a project that reveals the striking disconnect between the juristic and legal constructions of gender roles in Muslim legal tradition and the lived realities of many Muslim women in Kuala Lumpur, Indonesia.

The Muslim Student Association of Notre Dame hosted an event, entitled “Understanding the Hijab,” to analyze hijab and how it’s perceived in Muslim and non-Muslim societies.

New documentary interviews 6 Muslim women dressed differently, but have the same message. The result is a vibrant collection of distinct voices.

Catherine Putz of The Diplomat comments on the post by Washington Post last week about a documentary claiming that sex workers in Tajikstan were wearing the hijab.

Who’s Afraid of the Hijab? A TEDx Talk by Kiran Malik Khan, a freelance journalist and poet, on her world and that of the Hijab.

Islamic Fashion’s Expanding Market Attracts Shariah Financiers in Malaysia. According to some fashion experts, this market is “extremely exciting and profitable.”

“I never fully believed that British Muslims were being victimized, but then I was stopped at Heathrow,” writes Hanna Yusuf. She says: “It’s so distressing when those who are supposed to protect you treat you like a criminal.”

Nadia Fawaz, of Arab News, writes about the rise of female DJs in Saudi Arabia and how the young girls are trying to find a new tune.

Friday Links

April 3, 2015 By samya

Tajik state television has aired a documentary that alleges that prostitutes in the country have been wearing Islamic veils to earn more money.

Once a month, Muslim women gather in a bright open space inside a brick building near downtown Los Angeles. They come for jumu’ah or Friday prayer. This “all women’s mosque” has been described as an unconventional.

Pakistani kids will finally meet homegrown heroes, when the first Pakistani animated feature is out this May.

Sarah Khan writes on her journey across eight cities in the UK, and tries to find out why those opposing radicalism, especially British Muslim girls, struggle to find a voice.

Ahlam Ahmed is determined to become the Fire Department of New York’s first female Muslim firefighter. The petite eighteen-year-old of Yemeni descent is well aware of the physical challenges inherent to the job. But she is resolute.

Madrid conquers Muslim women with fashion through cultural center of the Arab House in Madrid, which hosted the first fashion show of clothing for Muslim women.

They are elegant and graceful. Dressed in hijabs and high heels, they look like any other woman, except they were born men. And they’ve caught the attention of extremists in Indonesia. Dateline of SBS explores transgender culture in Indonesia.

France is home to Europe’s largest Muslim population. There are an estimated five million Muslims in the country. But why are Paris Muslims, including women, struggle to be accepted?

Samar Fatani writes on how Muslim scholars are called upon to publicly reclaim Islam’s spirit of justice and respect for women who are mothers and to remember that God has placed Heaven under their feet.

Chinese newspapers reported that a 38-year-old Uighur Muslim has been sentenced to six years in jail for growing a beard, while his wife was given two years for wearing face veil or niqab.

My Stealthy Freedom: Women in Iran step up hijab campaign by filming themselves walking in public with their heads uncovered.

World-leading Islamic clothing firm opens first boutique store in London, selling Arabic cloaks, luxury hijabs and flowing gowns. According to experts, modest fashion could be worth £100 million in the UK alone.

Friday Links

March 20, 2015 By samya

Gal5_11_PoeticPilgrimage_L — Poetic Pilgrimage. Source.

“Poetic Pilgrimage isn’t just a rap group — it’s a statement about Islam, women and what it means to belong,” writes Antonia Blumberg for The Huffington Post, in her article titled “Poetic Pilgrimage Is The Muslim Women’s Rap Duo The World Needs Right Now.”

Canadian Conservative backbencher Larry Miller has apologized for saying Muslim women who do not want to remove their face coverings when taking the citizenship oath should “stay the hell where [they] come from“.

Esther Oluga believes Islamophobia began in 2001, right after 9/11. She discusses how this phenomenon affects “the way we view Muslim Feminists.”

‘Faith, Fashion, Fusion: Muslim Women’s Style in Australia’ showcases the work of a new generation of fashion designers and aims to challenge broader stereotypes about Islam in the process.

An Abu Dhabi researcher has started a project to explore the perceptions of the veil among Muslims and non-Muslims in the UAE and abroad.

Al Arabiya highlights the experience of “Rapping with A Hijab,” and how two women broke barriers in Hip Hop scene in London.

Newsweek asks the eternal question: How to End Female Genital Mutilation in Egypt?

Omer Aziz discusses why banning the niqab harms an open society as much as wearing it.

BBC’s “Women in Black“: The Dubai episode, looks at the changing role of Muslim women’s fashion around the globe.

In Malaysia, Fa Abdul writes about the main oppressor of Muslim women: it is not Islam, it is the men.

In Tajikistan.. How do prostitutes protect themselves? By wearing Hijab.

Budoor Al Qassimi, who belongs to the royal family in the Emirate of Sharjah, United Arab Emirates, argues that to empower women, start with a longer maternity leave.

Non-Conferenced

December 9, 2014 By shireen

Normally, I jump at the chance to speak at women’s conferences and participate in any way that will allow me to speak about my advocacy and organization around Women in sport. As a Muslimah living in the Toronto area, I have been very fortunate to be in a region that is bursting with female scholarship of varying degrees and community initiatives by intrepid women. There are tremendous organizations and groups that give nods to Muslim women and their expertise in journalism, health and wellness, social work,education, business, food– just to name a few. So much wisdom and experience masha’Allah.

Unfortunately, I had to respectfully withdraw from a conference that I had originally committed to. This post is in no way an attempt to shame organizers but continue a much-needed conversation about communication, professionalism and expectations of ourselves and the wider community. I still believe that the organizers had good intentions but the manner in which the event was carried out was subpar.

This particular conference was advertised as a “Women’s Expo” with a a fashion show and bazaar with local vendors. I was contacted during the early summer and was given at least 3 months of notice and happily agreed to speak with a close friend on “Muslim women in sport”.

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Stability and Sustainability: Interview with Dr Hawa Abdi

November 18, 2014 By syahirah

It is a calm and cool afternoon in Nairobi, Kenya, when I catch up with Dr Hawa Abdi over Skype. After working hard in Mogadishu’s difficult circumstances with her two physician daughters Deqo and Amina Mohamed, she sometimes comes to Nairobi to rest and relax. Speaking over a passable internet connection, our conversation is peppered with silences, as our words travel between Kenya and Singapore.

68 year-old Dr Abdi, affectionately known by Somalis as Mama Hawa, is more than Somalia’s first gynaecologist. From 1964 to 1971, Dr Abdi specialised in obstetrics and gynaecology in Kiev, and later came back to work in one of the biggest hospitals in Somalia. It was during this period that she saw to many women from prison, who were handcuffed or chained to the hospital beds as they waited for treatment. This sight spurred her to continue her education in Somalia, this time earning a law degree in 1979.

To help provide maternal care to rural women, Dr Abdi started a free rural clinic in 1983 on some family-owned land, which quickly grew into a 400-bed two-storey hospital. When Somalia broke out into civil war in 1991, her hospital started to take in refugees. The surrounding land quickly expanded into a refugee camp that housed 90,000 internally displaced people. This haven however, became the target for several attacks by militants over the last few years.

Today, the camp houses 5,000 internally displaced people in six sections, each with their own committee, water tank and farmland. The camp’s primary school, Waqaf-Dhiblawe, teaches an equal ratio of boys and girls. As of 2012, the hospital has a capacity of 400 beds, maternal mortality rates of 1 per cent, and infant mortality rates of 4.3 per cent, well below national averages.

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I know, I know, hijab makes you beautiful

October 6, 2014 By syahirah

Screenshot from video — Screenshot from “Hijab Makes You Beautiful”

When I was 19 years old and just exiting from the rebellious teenage years, I stepped out of the house with my hijabi sister. I was newly de-jabbed (the first tentative attempt of many), and feeling awkward and – for lack of a better description – naked. My neighbour happened to step out at the same time, looked at the two of us, and proceeded to declare my sister the prettier of the two of us.

“Beautiful! Your sister looks so beautiful in hijab!” Embarrassed, I tried to disappear. Eventually I realise that it’s never a good idea to listen to men’s ideas about what women wear because guess what? On a scale of 1 to 10 of how much their opinions matter, it’s exactly zero.

We are often told that hijab protects us from harassment and the male gaze. What we were conveniently not told is that hijab comes with its own unique type of male gaze, which can make you squirm just as much.

A few years ago, Nicole dissected a similar hijab-being-promoted-by-a-man song ‘You Got It Covered’ with an overwhelming response from both sides. This year, I present to you a Malaysian boy band singing a cover (the video describes it as a parody) of One Direction’s pop hit ‘That’s What Makes You Beautiful’, called ‘Hijab Makes You Beautiful’.

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