Sarah Farrukh – Altmuslimah – Wednesday, 24 September 2014 (originally published 05 Sept) Today we remember the life of an extraordinary individual who strove for the accurate representation of Muslim women, Tayyibah Taylor. Ms. Taylor inspired people from all walks of life, leaving her legacy with the award-winning publication, Azizah Magazine. She was a trailblazer […]
Sean Groth with WNN – Women News Network – WNN Interviews (WNN) London, UNITED KINGDOM, WESTERN EUROPE: Zaynab is not her name. She prefers to remain anonymous, such is the shame she still feels or, at least, believes her parents feel to this day. Zaynab is a second generation Brit; her parents are from Morocco. […]
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty – WNN Interviews (WNN/RFE/RL) Istanbul, TURKEY, WESTERN ASIA: Elif Shafak is an award-winning Turkish novelist, who writes in both English and Turkish. She has published 13 books, including “The Bastard of Istanbul,” “The Forty Rules of Love,” “Honor,” and her nonfiction memoir “Black Milk,” an account of her struggle with post-partum […]
Spogmay Waziri Kakar – WNN Improve It (WNN) Washington D.C., UNITED STATES, AMERICAS: In Afghan society marriages are supposed to last for life. The divorce rate is low. But when a marriage does fail, it is always the woman’s fault. Statements such as “She should have compromised” or “She should have listened to her husband” […]
Michael Wrobel – The Link – Thursday, 06 February 2014 (originally published 04 Feb) Quebec feminists and other progressive forces are currently confronted with an “important philosophical dilemma” in the debate surrounding the wearing of religious symbols, says self-described Muslim feminist and social justice activist Leila Bdeir. A founding member of the Collective des féministes […]
Jordyn Grzelewski – Policy Mic – Friday, 24 January 2014 (originally published 16 Jan ) After spending weeks locked in a prison cell, 18-year-old Ola Ezzat is ready to take to the streets in protest — which is what landed her in prison in the first place “This is our right, and we cannot only […]
Shahnaz Taplin-Chinoy – Huffington Post – Friday, 10 January 2014 (originally published 10 Jan) As we herald 2014 with hopes for peace, prosperity and harmony, I look into the crystal ball and identify a short list of contemporary Muslim women change makers — locally, nationally and globally. The six Muslim women track the challenges their […]
Frida Ghitis – CNN – Thursday, 07 November 2013 (originally published 04 Nov) (CNN) — When a police officer demanded that she cover her hair, Amira Osman Hamed simply refused. “I’m Muslim, and I’m not going to cover my head,” she declared. For that, the 35-year-old Sudanese engineer was arrested last August and charged with […]
Elsa Rizkallah – WNN Religion & Belief (WNN/CGN) Montreal, CANADA, AMERICAS: As the burqa controversy continues to make headlines in France, it is worth examining what France could learn from Canada, which has worked to reconcile freedom of religion with national security and women rights. Bills banning the burqa – a garment that fully covers […]
Cherie Howie – New Zealand Herald – Wednesday 21 August 2013 (originally published 18 Aug) Anjum Rahman will never forget watching a man wave his fists in front of her as she drove down a street. She hadn’t done anything wrong – the Muslim mum-of-two was just wearing her headscarf. Instances of verbal abuse followed […]