An Interview with Nausheen Dadabhoy

Last updated on: March 28, 2011 at 12:00 am By eren

The earthquake that shook Pakistan and Kashmir in 2005 killed thousands and left millions homeless. Pakistani-American Nausheen Dadabhoy felt it was her responsibility to give a voice to those affected by the earthquake. Through visits to hospitals and camps, Dadabhoy met Ruqiya and Khalida, two women whose lives had changed due to the disaster. In “The Ground Beneath Their Feet: A Tale of Pakistani Women,” Dadabhoy presents the story of these two women, who courageously had to redefine their lives... Read more

Friday Links | March 25, 2011

Last updated on: March 25, 2011 at 12:00 am By fatemeh

The All India Muslim Women Personal Law Board in Lucknow, India, is petitioning the governor to amend the law to allow Muslim women to get the rights provided for them in Shariah law. On Kazakhstan’s unofficial hijab ban. More on discrimination against headscarf-wearing Kazakhs here. Will the revolutions in the Middle East trigger revolutions in women’s sports in the region? The Toronto Star looks at how Muslim women are participating in said Middle Eastern revolutions. The Austrian Independent report says... Read more

An Interview with Yusra Tekbali on Libya

Last updated on: March 24, 2011 at 12:00 am By yusra

MMW Contributor Yusra Tekbali was in Libya during the outbreak of the February 17 Revolution. She was evacuated to Malta, and now speaks to us from The United Arab Emirates, where she is attending Insight Dubai, a conference on Muslim Women’s issues sponsored by Dubai Women’s College. Krista and Azra interview her about her experiences. MMW: Yusra, we’re so glad you are safe. How was it being in Libya during the beginning of the people’s movement? Yusra: In one word:... Read more

Ethics or Shame Policing?

Last updated on: March 23, 2011 at 12:00 am By fatemeh

Here’s yet another video campaign on why women should wear hijab: This movie shows a woman stumbling through a dark and scary forest, running away from snakes and wolves and unknown–yet terrifying–dangers. But all of that goes away when–surprise!–she puts on a headscarf. The differences in the movie between life without a headscarf and life with one are startling. The movie shows a woman without a headscarf in a bright red dress (a color which often signifies visibility and sexuality),... Read more

Mother’s Day Hypocrisy

Last updated on: March 22, 2011 at 12:00 am By Guest Contributor

This was written by Nadine Moawad and originally published at Sawt al Niswa. Ya3ni, we all know that corporations get especially greedy around Mother’s Day trying to shove ads down our throats everywhere we look. And it’s hypocritical of Lebanon to celebrate mothers anyway when they are so blatantly inferior to fathers in almost every aspect of the law. If you love mothers so much, give them their right to guardianship of their children, at least! But anyway, this particular... Read more

The Republic Lives its Islamophobia Openly: France’s Newest Anti-Niqab Campaign

Last updated on: March 21, 2011 at 12:00 am By nicole

In France, they really don’t like any type of head coverings. After decades of one headscarf affair after another, where generations of young women who wear hijab are forced to stop their education (way to go in liberating women, France), things got serious when France woke up in recent years to the threat of illegal polygamous niqabis and their “creeping Shariah.” To counter the 367 burqa-clad women (this is a real number, I kid you not) in France in 2009... Read more

Friday Links | March 18, 2011

Last updated on: March 18, 2011 at 12:00 am By fatemeh

A Lebanese politician calls Saudi women “trash bags” and then hurriedly backpedals. Hilarious satire about a Pakistani ban on bras is presented as fact by American outlet. This week, the Virginia Festival of the Book aimed to go beyond flat stereotypes of Muslim women. Three thousand Muslim women attended a seminar on employment in Dadar, India. The Huffington Post goes over the history of women’s reforms (or lack thereof) after revolutions in the Middle East. A federal appeals court ruled... Read more

Dictatorships Are No Longer in Vogue

Last updated on: March 17, 2011 at 12:00 am By sana

What does one of the world’s premier fashion and culture magazines have in common with one of the world’s most relentlessly brutal dictators? A love for Asma al-Assad. In the recent issue of Vogue, writer Joan Juliet Buck profiles Syrian president Bashar al-Assad’s charming, educated, eloquent and fashionable wife for her February 2011 piece “Rose in a Desert.” While renowned for exceptional aesthetic preferences, it is apparent that the magazine decided to let good taste take a backseat amidst a... Read more

Ni Putes Ni Soumises: Experiments in Online Activism

Last updated on: March 16, 2011 at 12:00 am By Guest Contributor

This was written by Lobna Hadji and originally appeared at OWNI.eu, Digital Journalism. I wasn’t meant to die so young… My name is Sohane Benziane. I was born in France to Algerian parents. On October 4th, 2002 my life came to a sudden end when my ex-boyfriend NoNo set me on fire. I remember the screams, the insults…the gasoline. For a quick moment, I became a flambeau vivant- a living torch. My flame died two hours later at the hospital.... Read more

Red Sands’ Substantial Suckitude

Last updated on: March 15, 2011 at 12:00 am By Guest Contributor

This was written by Rahela Choudhury. Red Sands is available on Netflix and claims to introduce a new character into the Western horror genre: the djinn. Instead of the lovable genie popularized by Aladdin, this movie attempts to present djinns as scary and malevolent creatures that can mess with your heads. Directed by Alex Turner (of Dead Birds fame) and released in 2009, Red Sands is about a squad of American soldiers who encounter a wicked djinn in the deserts... Read more