The Islamists controlling Mali’s northern city of Timbuktu have announced that from now on they will be arresting indecently-dressed women and girls, and any female who is seen on the streets after 11 pm. Many local women feel deprived of their freedom by this new enforcement of “sharia” law, and secretly hope to be liberated by the south soon. About 230 Afghan women are facing unemployment now that a rare women-only factory in the country is bound to close, after the... Read more
Islam in the Hinterlands: Muslim Cultural Politics in Canada is a recent book that looks at the place of Muslims within Canadian media, schools, politics, and laws. Edited by Jasmin Zine, the collection provides insightful analysis on a number of current topics related to Muslims in Canada, and is a valuable resource for those of us working as scholars, writers, and/or activists in the field. The first section of the book, “Gender and Cultural Politics,” begins with a chapter by... Read more
Recently, I’ve come across two articles on marriage, each published months apart in the New York Times. The first is an introspective piece that advocates marriage within a Western setting, and the other addresses the apparent prevalence of free-will marriages in Pakistan. While the first discusses a past romantic relationship and how the author eventually comes to regret not marrying her partner of seven years, the latter looks at how some Pakistani women are risking their lives and defying tradition... Read more
The last few weeks in Libya have been tragic, depressing and hopeful by turn. For months the militia situation in the country had been brewing, with increasing calls for disarmament and unification under a national army on the one hand, and on the other, calls for patience by those making the argument that the armed groups are needed to keep order and security. This simmering tension exploded on the 11th of September with the devastating attack on the US embassy,... Read more
For many of us, television drama can be an enriching part of our living experience, defining many of our day-to-day conversations with family members, co-workers and social network friends. But what happens if drama series go too far in fantasizing about our life situations by presenting us with unreal representations of events, issues and personalities that we find hard to identify with? During this past Ramadan, I found two different soap operas tackling stories of Arab women from different perspectives... Read more
The controversial anti-Islam video has caused protests and violence all over the globe. In Afghanistan, a female suicide car bomber attacked a bus in Kabul, killing 12 people. An armed group has claimed the attack and said it was to avenge the anti-Islam film. Following violent protests in Australia last weekend, which partly ended through the intervention of local Muslim mothers, Muslim women have called on their community to “cool off”. In the African country of Malawi, sex workers have resorted... Read more
I recently came across a short movie on the life of transsexual Muslims in Indonesia. In the last few years, MMW has covered a few different stories in terms of LGBT activism in Indonesia: issues concerning transgender and transsexual communities, the challenges faced by lesbians and the attempts to bring LGTBQ issues to the public sphere. Yet there are things to watch, along with our reading! The Warias: Indonesia’s Transsexual Muslims is a short documentary that presents the lives of... Read more
For an extra treat this week, we have a second new writer to introduce! You might recognise Sya from her past MMW guest posts on Ramadan in Singapore and on the Save Maryam campaign, and we are happy to welcome her as a more regular contributor to MMW. Last week I was in London, moonlighting as a cheerleader. My sister, Nurulasyiqah, represented Singapore in boccia for the first time ever, and I was absolutely excited to see her play in the Paralympics. In... Read more
Braids on a Bald Head is a short movie, released in 2010, by Nigerian director Ishaya Bako. The film shows the day in the life of a poor, married hairdresser, Hauwa Bello, “who through a brief homosexual encounter is able to muster up courage and stand up to her inattentive husband and ask for better.” I came across the trailer for Braids on a Bald Head several months ago; it is under one minute but it was enough to pique... Read more
MMW is excited to welcome wood turtle as our newest contributor! You may know her already from previous guest posts or from her personal blog, and we look forward to having her as a regular part of the MMW team. Earlier this month, the Canadian province of Quebec elected its first female Premier. Headed by Pauline Marois, the Parti Québécois won a minority government after almost 10 years of Liberal rule. This election was also marked by accusations of xenophobia and racism, and ended... Read more
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