I once asked my mother why boys had to be circumcised, but girls didn’t. Growing up in Singapore in the 1990s, it was more common for boys to be circumcised at the age of 7 or 9, where it resembled more of a rite of passage. They were not allowed to eat certain foods, had to wear a kain sarong for less discomfort, and had to be fanned at night to keep dry. My mother said that it wasn’t compulsory for girls,... Read more
I have been hearing about Taslima Nasrin from the time I was a child. The Muslim Bangla woman was accused of writing blasphemous anecdotes about Islam in her 1993 novel Lajja, which drew a number of protests, including at least one group calling for her death and offering a reward; Lajja was banned in Bangladesh following widespread protest against its contents. So it was natural that I picked up a copy of Lajja when I recently found it in a... Read more
This post was written by guest contributor Shireen Ahmed. A version of this post was previously posted on her blog. Every year there are a group of women who celebrate, support and participate in World Hijab Day. This year February 1, 2013 marked the day where women all over the world would be “invited” to wear a scarf on their head in solidarity with Muslim sisters across the globe. This phenomenon has garnered much attention. It has exploded through social... Read more
A parody of Sex With Egyptian Women (According to “Mike”). Hat tip to Sara Salem for her more straightforward takedown of the same article. Sometime ago I was twiddling my thumbs, waiting for a cab, in Luxor. As the wind pushed against me, I was reminded that I had missed lunch. I needed to eat something. Anything. My stomach cried out for a spoonful of koshary much in the same way those cute little beggar kids do. As I was... Read more
While the city of Timbuktu, Mali, is celebrating the end of the Islamist rule, one woman recounts her ordeal, as she was tortured after being caught in public with her boyfriend. In another interview, three Malian women share their experiences under the Ansar Dine regime. Bangladeshi women from the impoverished village of Basatpur have been travelling for two decades to Mumbai to make a living there as dancing girls, but the local government claims this is not migration, but human trafficking. At least 25 women... Read more
Let’s face it: there has been many a cringeworthy attempt at capturing the funny side of being a Muslim in the West. Apart from the brilliant 2010 film Four Lions, I always struggle to think of Muslim-themed comedies that actually make me smile. I was pleased to hear about Lena Khan’s project – The Tiger Hunter – which tells the familiar tale of a young Muslim man moving to 1970s Chicago to achieve his dreams. I interviewed the brilliant and... Read more
In recent years, women-only taxi services offering convenient and safe transit have sprung up in major cities all over the globe. These “pink taxis,” driven by women for women, offer a variety of benefits — not only giving women the option of avoiding harassment by male drivers, but also offer employment opportunities, business ownership, and in some cases, empowered transit in funky, candy pink rides decked out with lady magazines, beauty kits, and alarm buttons. In Beirut, they’re styled as fierce competition to the standard transit... Read more
The Girl who Fell to Earth is the coming-of-age story of a self-described “Qatarican” (Qatari/American) which takes the reader on a zig-zagging journey from a farm in Washington State to a Bedouin town in Qatar, and on to a houseboat on the Nile and the hustle and bustle of Cairo. The result is something very far from the usual “tone and content [of] the popular genre-memoirs of the victimized-Muslim-woman.” This book is rightly described as a memoir, but because it... Read more
One of my favorite hobbies is reading food blogs. I am passionate about desserts, and I spend much of my time baking and taking pictures of my creations. When I was growing up, baking was something I picked up from my step-mother, who loved all kinds of “women’s work” such as cooking, baking, sewing and knitting. While my mother identified as a feminist of a generation that broke away from housewifery and did not pick up any “womanly” crafts, my... Read more
The Syrian regime under leadership of Bashar al Assad is actively recruiting female soldiers to be deployed in checkpoints etc., so that more male soldiers can be deployed at the front lines. The statement by the Indonesian Ulema Council that female circumcision is a constitutional right has sparked a huge debate in the country. Women’s rights groups on the other hand push for a ban, calling the practice gender discrimination. Bassima Hakkaoui, Morocco’s only female minister, says that the fact that she wears... Read more
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