In what feels like the twinkle of an eye, the topic of feminism amongst Muslims is fast evolving from an unpleasant slur into an empowering …
Eid Mubarak… But Only For Some? Who’s Really Getting the Holiday Treatment?
…what about women from low-income families, who bear the brunt of disproportionate labor during celebrations? Shouldn’t they, too, be able to enjoy Eid without the weight of unpaid domestic work?
Let’s Face It, African Culture, Disguised as Islam, is Toxic to Mothers
In Northern Nigeria, the intersection of cultural misconceptions and Islamic teachings often creates a paradox. While Islam advocates for women’s rights and equality, the prevailing cultural practices often stifle these very principles, relegating women to roles that deny them their autonomy.
Unpacking the Patriarchal Playbook: Islam, Entitlement and the Erasure of Women’s Agency
There is a quiet, unspoken belief that a woman’s place in a man’s home is defined by her duties, not by her presence.
TMWT X MUSAWAH: Conditions, Not Conflict – Are Love and Marriage Contracts Mutually Exclusive?
Marriage Contract conditions can safeguard women’s rights within and outside the home… Marriage contracts can become an easy tool to equalise power between partners.
The Big Sister’s Advice: On Navigating the Social Media Minefield
I hope the day will come when you will be free to hold your head up and claim what you believe or support without fear of being “dragged”. I pray for the day when being a Muslim woman – especially being visibly so – is not seen as an open invitation for others to have an opinion on how we choose to live our lives. Until that time, and unless you choose other
Collective and Isolated: The Realities of Muslim Women’s Activism
What makes it more difficult is that the attitudes of Muslim men and lots of Muslim women always run contrary to the egalitarian values of Islam that you have told non-Muslims about. So it feels like we’re just making things up to protect this religion and make it look good. This is in addition to being sidelined by close friends and family for believing that you, as a Muslim woman, have God-given rights. People constantly try to ostracise you, telling others to avoid you if they want to keep the faith. Being an activist feels really lonely.”
Deconstructing the Binary of the Slut and the Burqa-Clad Woman
When people pontificate on my freedom or lack of it because of my burqa, this is the reality that none of them sees. For all the love of revolutions and disruptive activism, we forget to acknowledge a nuance where not everything is a violent disruption. There is a ‘quiet activism’ where we change things from within. It is impossible to embody values that stress a community and then expect them to reform in any way. Nobody trusts an outsider.
Muslims Can’t be Racist?: Dr Maryyum Mehmood Tells Us It’s Time to Look Within
As the conversation about racism once again takes centre stage amongst Muslims on social media, acknowledging the existence of these issues rather than sweeping them under the carpet is the first step to tackling them. Imams, scholars and leaders of Muslim communities must be willing to be held accountable by showing a commitment to working through this beyond paying lip service, turning the tables around, playing the blame game and glossing over the pain of actual victims of racism.
No, Mahr Does Not Make Women the Object of a Transactional Marital Relationship
In Muslim circles, it has been appalling to hear people assert that the concept of Mahr – which is a compulsory marital gift that a groom must give to a bride – makes women the object of a transactional marital relationship. In other words, the husband purchases the bride in exchange for sexual and domestic services as well as unconditional obedience to him. If this is not a deliberate distortion of the true spirit behind the Mahr to pander to misogynistic cultures, then I do not know what it is.