Golnaz Esfandiari writes about a cartoon by a hard-line news agency: “The cartoon suggests that women who cover their hair and body fully are perhaps as smart as Albert Einstein, while those who don’t completely observe the obligatory Islamic dress code are brainless.” Read more
Somalia’s women’s minister, Asha Osman Aqil, has been kidnapped by Al Shabab. God keep her safe. Egyptian women take a stand against harassment with HarassMap. Emirati women will enjoy full participation in an upcoming election to be held in September; they may both vote and run in the election. How the Muslim community rose to Rumana Monzur’s defense after her husband attacked her. Pakistan appoints its first female foreign minister. More from the BBC. The Obedient Wives Club not doing... Read more
This post was written by Asifa Akbar. Since its inception, Muslimah Media Watch (MMW) has been committed to dispelling myths, stereotypes and misrepresentations about Muslim women and occupies a vital niche in the larger movement to combat islamophobia. It has succeeded in doing this through an inclusive and varied set of critical contributions canvassing a wide-range of topics that attempt to challenge conventional viewpoints, mainstream information, and assumptions about the diverse world that encompasses the experiences of Muslim women. In... Read more
This article was written by Peter Gray. France’s decision to outlaw face veils sparked a robust debate about religion and women’s rights. In response to concerns that the law will negatively impact Muslim women, its advocates frequently mention that it enjoys the approval of several prominent French Muslim feminists. What is not mentioned, however, is that behind their feminist façade, these women have a troubling record of harassing the women they claim to speak for. Discussions of Muslim feminism in... Read more
On July 10, El País reported on the case of Chadia (a pseudonym to protect her identity), a 15-year-old girl, born and living in Spain. According to El País, she is the one of the very few women and the only minor in Melilla who wears the niqab. Chadia’s story is unique. She has decided to withdraw from school because of the ban on garments that cover the face, such as niqab, from public schools. The article is accompanied by... Read more
Until the early 1990s, Egypt’s domination of the Arab film and television industry had won it the title of “Hollywood of the Arab East”. In significant ways, Egyptian drama productions, featured on television screens and in movie theatres, were believed to have been quite vital in promoting traditional Arab and Egyptian-specific lifestyles and experiences. In the past two decades, however, Egypt’s audio-visual fortunes were being markedly diminished by the rise of regional television production centers, mainly in Syria and the... Read more
The British Jihad Against Violence gets some coverage in Common Ground News. Surprise! The Iranian government will support books about hijab and modesty. USA Today profiles Kulsoom Abdullah’s and her fight to wear hijab during weightlifting competitions. Women in rural Bangladesh raise money for their own microfinance programs. British Muslim men are urged to “find women from within their own community” instead of “outsourcing” wives. Muslim women in parts of Australia would be required to remove their veils and show... Read more
By guest contributor Wood Turtle; a longer version of this post was originally published at her blog. At what point does religious inclusion become too much for a public school board to handle? Apparently, it’s when the menstrual cycles of 12-year-old girls become the center of public debate. Every week for the past three years, Valley Park Middle School in Toronto has held official Jumm’ah prayers in the cafeteria. Like many issues in the Muslim community, there’s a wide variety... Read more
This post was written by Aziz Poonawalla and originally appeared at City of Brass. I found this argument by Munawar Hassan of the political party Jamaat-i-Islami to be unbelievably disgusting and fundamentally blasphemous in the way he invokes the Qur’an to justify blatant misogyny: Here is the most disturbing part of Hassan’s comments: Anchor: The fundamental purpose of the women protection act was (is) to provide women with the right to file cases on the basis of circumstantial and forensic... Read more
So Richard Dawkins is an asshat. Anyone surprised? Here’s the comment he left on a thread that discussed sexism: Dear Muslima Stop whining, will you. Yes, yes, I know you had your genitals mutilated with a razor blade, and . . . yawn . . . don’t tell me yet again, I know you aren’t allowed to drive a car, and you can’t leave the house without a male relative, and your husband is allowed to beat you, and you’ll... Read more
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