Book Review: Gardens of Water

Last updated on: January 8, 2013 at 1:03 pm By Guest Contributor

This post was written by guest contributor Rahela Choudhury, and contains spoilers about the book. Alan Drew’s Gardens of Water focuses on how two families become forever intertwined after a devastating earthquake wreaks havoc upon their lives. The story takes place in a Turkish town on the outskirts of Istanbul. The two main families in the story, one consisting of Kurdish refugees and the other of American expats, reside in the same apartment building. The Kurdish family is composed of... Read more

Malaysian Child Brides: Agency or Abuse?

Last updated on: February 11, 2013 at 5:23 am By syahirah

This year saw two publicised instances of Malay Muslim girls in Malaysia, below the legal age of marriage, getting married to boys who were also relatively young. One couple was Nor Fazira Saad (13 years old) and Mohammad Fahmi Alias (19) from Kedah, Malaysia who were married in their kampong in November. Earlier this year in July, a couple identified only as Yana (14) and Syafiq (16) from Pahang, Malaysia, were married in a grand ceremony attended by many guests — with all... Read more

Friday Links | January 4, 2013

Last updated on: January 3, 2013 at 11:19 pm By anneke

An increasing number of Muslim women in the UK is entering into a marriage with a non-Muslim partner, and some religious leaders are willing to conduct these interfaith marriages, despite the dominant notion that Muslim women are forbidden to marry non-Muslim partners. Institutions in Kosovo are addressing the status of survivors of sexual violence during the war; they are currently not included in a law that grants other categories of war victims and their families, as well as veterans, financial support and assistance.... Read more

Not All Designations Are Equal: Representing Women in the Arab Revolutions and Beyond

Last updated on: January 2, 2013 at 1:08 pm By sana

Two years ago, Mohammad Bouazizi’s self-immolation set an inferno across parts of the Middle East and North Africa, changing the course of the region’s assumed history. We know what happened and we know what has been happening since. Egypt, Tunisia and Libya, despite having removed the bodies of dictators, continue to struggle to maintain control over the next phase of revolution. Yemenis and Bahrainis, albeit generally absent from headlines, are still fighting against authoritarian and oppressive governance and state violence.... Read more

Reading Between the Lines: Two Takes on British Women’s Unemployment

Last updated on: January 2, 2013 at 1:37 am By Azra

Earlier in December, the Guardian reported on a recent UK-based report—the “All Party Parliamentary Group on Race and Community Ethnic Minority Female Unemployment: Black, Pakistani and Bangladeshi Heritage Women”—that found “minority ethnic women are more than twice as likely to be unemployed as their white counterparts, with some removing their hijabs or making their names sound more English to try to beat discrimination.” The report found that continuing employment woes – and, as a result, the decreased self-confidence in women... Read more

Nur Media’s “Ask A Muslim” Series: Black Muslims Talk Islam

Last updated on: December 27, 2012 at 10:58 pm By sharrae

Finding black Muslim women in mainstream media circuits can be like finding a needle in a haystack. Most of the representations of Muslim people are confined to Arab and South Asian people, which are both the faults of mainstream producers and Muslim-owned media makers. However, it leaves other communities within the broader Muslim community to feel left out and underrepresented. So what does it mean to be a black Muslim in America? Nur Media decided to bring together black Muslims... Read more

MMW Highlights from 2012: Part 3

Last updated on: December 31, 2012 at 1:34 am By Muslimah Media Watch

As 2012 draws to a close, we’ll be posting some highlights from this year’s posts. We published way too much to be able to go back through all of it in detail (that’s what the archives are for!), but these highlight posts will include some posts that stood out from each of our writers over the past year. See Part 1 here, and Part 2 here. “How Are Muslim Women Doing in Political Cartoons?” by Eren “When it comes to Muslim... Read more

MMW Highlights from 2012: Part 2

Last updated on: December 27, 2012 at 11:46 pm By Muslimah Media Watch

As 2012 draws to a close, we’ll be posting some highlights from this year’s posts. We published way too much to be able to go back through all of it in detail (that’s what the archives are for!), but these highlight posts will include some posts that stood out from each of our writers over the past year. See Part 1 here. “Maryam Talks Back” by Sya “But why is Maryam, even as a symbol of an “entire generation of... Read more

Friday Links | December 28, 2012

Last updated on: December 27, 2012 at 10:26 pm By anneke

An Afghan policewoman has killed a civilian contractor in Kabul, last Monday. Her children say that she was suffering from mental illness. The BBC features an article on the rise of Arab, predominantly Muslim, fashion models. A recent public beheading of a young woman by her brother in India, is just an example of the surge in “honor killings” in the country; some localities are hoping that a female cell phone ban will keep women safe. In her piece in The... Read more

MMW Highlights from 2012: Part 1

Last updated on: December 27, 2012 at 1:19 am By Muslimah Media Watch

As 2012 draws to a close, we’ll be posting some highlights from this year’s posts. We published way too much to be able to go back through all of it in detail (that’s what the archives are for!), but the next few posts will include some posts that stood out from each of our writers over the past year. “Hey Girl, You Got It Covered” by Nicole “So “You Got it Covered” is playing it wrong because very little anyone... Read more