On Female Scholars (But Not Feminism): Reviewing Al-Muhaddithat

Last updated on: January 30, 2012 at 5:59 pm By eren

I bought this book after reading a review in the New York Times. The review largely described Al-Muhaddithat as a women-focused yet Islamically-indigenous text that could lead to the rediscovery of women’s importance in Islam. The book is written by Mohammad Akram Nadwi, a Muslim scholar who puts emphasis on what he sees as a women’s role in Islam (what he considers an “appropriate” role) but does not advocate for “Westernized” customs like mixing between sexes. Nadwi, a Sunni scholar... Read more

Zarina Hashmi: Mapping Home

Last updated on: January 30, 2012 at 1:26 pm By tasnim

Susan Friedman has described the homonym roots/routes as “two sides of the same coin: roots, signifying identity based on stable cores and continuities; routes, suggesting identity based on travel, change and disruption.” I have always visualized veteran artist Zarina Hashmi’s home on wheels as embodying this duality. Like much of her work, her piece entitled I Went on a Journey explores the concept of “home” and self-location. As she puts it, “I make a home wherever I am. My home... Read more

The Favored Daughter Reviewed

Last updated on: January 29, 2012 at 6:40 pm By Azra

The Favored Daughter—One woman’s fight to lead Afghanistan into the Future, by Fawzia Koofi with Nadene Ghouri, tells the important story of a courageous Afghani woman, Fawzia Koofi. The biography starts near the time of her birth up to her election and current role Afghanistan’s first female parliament speaker, with the country’s political history always in the background. Interspersed throughout her story are letters she writes to her young daughters— messages for when she travels the country without them, aware... Read more

Friday Links | January 27, 2012

Last updated on: January 26, 2012 at 6:37 pm By anneke

Mali has adopted a new family law, which is actually a step back for the position of women in this predominantly Muslim country. According to this new law, women have to obey their husbands and men are head of the households. After her retirement, Prof. Hasnath Mansur committed herself to the improvement of the lives of Muslim women in India. Poverty, not religion, is the reason that so many Muslim women have not had education, she claims. Up to three-quarters of Kyrgyz... Read more

Marching with Dignity – “Sisters” or Not

Last updated on: January 24, 2012 at 11:30 am By emanhashim

Just a month ago, here on MMW, I tried to highlight the fact that mainstream media was focusing on Islamists’ statements regarding what women wear, while, in fact, what was even more dangerous was their vision regarding women and child law. I referred in that article to quotations from Dr. Manal Abul-Hassan about allowing female genital mutilation, and to Abul-Hassan’s description of child protection laws as simply an imitation of the West (and therefore bad or unnecessary). Turns that Dr.... Read more

Nina Burleigh’s Contradictory Discussion of “Oxymoronic Creatures”

Last updated on: January 22, 2012 at 2:50 pm By diana

Slate recently ran a piece about Azza al Garf, dubbing her a “culturally regressive trailblazer,” and likening her to well-known American female conservatives such as Michele Bachman and Sarah Palin. Azza al Garf, a female member of the Muslim Brotherhood’s Freedom and Justice Party who was recently elected to the post-revolutionary Egyptian Parliament, had not been coy about her intentions should she win a seat in the new Parliament. As reported earlier by Egypt Independent, Azza al Garf claimed that if... Read more

Choose Your Caption: Niqab as Illustrative of, Well, Everything

Last updated on: January 22, 2012 at 2:35 pm By Lara Alamad

The development of a university course about Muslim women in the media and the threats faced by Muslim women activists would appear to be two very different stories. Yet they were both illustrated by nearly identical photographs: a lone Muslim woman wearing black clothing + black niqab. This is far from the first time such unrelated photographs have been shoehorned into coverage of Muslim women. While it’s tempting to stifle a yawn, these choices of stock photographs should be challenged... Read more

Book Review: Progressive Muslim Identities

Last updated on: January 22, 2012 at 2:20 pm By Krista

Progressive Muslim Identities: Personal Stories from the U.S. and Canada is a recently-published anthology, edited by Vanessa Karam, Olivia Samad, and Ani Zonneveld. As described by Zonneveld in the book’s introduction, “This is not a book of Islamic theology or history; a reader looking for that has other sources. This book is a snapshot that captures the brave face of individual progressive Muslims at this point in time. Their personal and honest narratives give readers a look into the lives... Read more

Friday Links | January 20, 2012

Last updated on: January 19, 2012 at 6:14 pm By anneke

A research in Iraqi Kurdistan proves that there is a link between mental disorders and Female Genital Mutilation. Iraqi Kurdistan has banned FGM last year, but at the moment, an approximate 40% of the female population in Kurdistan has undergone this procedure. In Sudan, an opposition leader has received criticism about his comments on women rights in the country. For example, he is of the opinion that women should be allowed to lead prayers in the mosque. Cassandra Balchin wrote a piece on the... Read more

How are Muslim Women Doing in Political Cartoons?

Last updated on: January 30, 2012 at 11:23 am By eren

After having written my undergraduate dissertation on depictions on Mexican First Ladies in political cartoons, I gained some insight into what it means to be a woman portrayed in editorial cartoons. Despite how funny political cartoons may be, they might also carry very strong messages, and these are often gendered. Political cartoons are a powerful medium because, although they are not news, they facilitate the delivery of specific messages. Political cartoons work in two ways: they reflect particular ideas and/or... Read more