Last month, one of my close friends in Dubai got engaged. She is 35, an accountant, and her fiancé is a doctor. I still remember how her mother used to worry about her not getting married, to the extent that she kept wondering what was going to happen to her daughter after she (the mother) dies! In Arab-Muslim society, being a ‘spinster’ is a real ‘problem,’ and often a crippling stigma. A woman that reaches 30 years of age without... Read more
FIFA has overturned its headscarf ban, enforced since 2007, on women playing soccer with their heads covered. Predictably, the French Football Federation issued an instant “this won’t happen here” communiqué, whereas Qatar, hosting the 2022 Olympics, commended the decision. FIFA’s decision has incited strong criticism online. All you have to do is read the comments in news articles (including the ones I have linked) or participate in discussions on social media (if you like coming face to face with big,... Read more
On July 11, World Population Day, an international conference on Family Planning was held in London, which has resulted in a relatively large number of related articles in the news. Quite some articles covered the north-south divide in maternal health in Nigeria. The predominantly Muslim north is poorer and the topic of contraception is still very sensitive there; in the northern state of Jigawa only 1% of the families uses contraception, and many mothers still die due to child birth related complications. Usually family planning... Read more
A recent post on the now dead phenomenon of Onitsha market literature and efforts to keep the genre alive by digitising its pamphlets brought contemporary Hausa popular literature to my mind. Not surprisingly, similarities have been drawn between both market literatures due their aesthetics, themes, and the manner in which they deal with social issues. While Northern Nigeria may be notorious abroad due to the extremism and destruction of Boko Haram as well as interethnic and inter-religious violent outbreaks, the... Read more
This post was written by guest contributor Arwa Aburawa. About a week ago, I was sitting in a cafe talking to a new acquaintance about racism. The person in question had worked on issues of race and racism for some time and I would say is a lot more clued up about the tensions and insidious forms of racism than I am. Even so, I was a little shocked to hear her say that she preferred the outward racism of... Read more
After spending the past few weeks delving into President Obama’s foreign policy strategies, discussing the Rochdale case and surviving steamy temperatures of over 45 degrees Celsius, I was looking forward to covering something upbeat and inspiring. The appearance of Pakistani sous chef Fatima Ali on Chopped, a cooking competition on the Food Network, provided the perfect opportunity. If there’s one thing that I can wax poetic about it is food and while this is not about cuisine per se, it... Read more
Hello and salaams dear MMW readers, Just a couple quick updates: First, I’m be traveling (in Turkey!) for the next two weeks. While I’m away, MMW’s Associate Editor, Tasnim, will be doing the editing, social media, etc. I have no doubt that things at MMW will run smoothly while I’m gone, but if anyone is trying to get in touch with me, that will likely be slow. Second, and more importantly, I wanted to let you know about our plans for... Read more
Six women from Gaza have appealed to the Israeli Supreme Court to grant them permission to pray at the Al Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem. While Christian women from Gaza have been allowed to visit religious sites in Israel, Muslim women are generally denied to enter Israel for this reason. Last Sunday voters in Senegal hit the polls, it is for the first time that the 2010 gender balance law comes into action, which ensures a larger participation of women in the government. Approx. 60% of Emirati women... Read more
With the summer Olympics fast approaching (and truly, what place says summer better than London), it was only natural that a bit of controversy would have to preface an event upon which the integrity of your otherwise boring country lies. And who better to offer this controversy than Saudi Arabia? Earlier this year, Human Rights Watch launched a campaign “Let Them Play” aimed to pressure the Kingdom into allowing female athletic participation in the upcoming Olympics. The campaign led to... Read more
Two weeks ago, I wrote a post discussing the attempt among Muslim leaders in Russia to prove that Russian Muslim women are modern and fashionable, unlike Muslims elsewhere. Soon after, fashion made headlines again, this time in the case of Mali, with Yahoo! News reporting on Darkar Fashion Week 2012. The event, which takes place in Senegal, has been attracting designers from all over Africa for the past ten years. The event has been reported to attempt to bring Africa... Read more
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