- The Mirwais Meena girls’ school in Kandahar is still empty after the acid attacks on students.
- Meribeth Deen profiles a Saudi designer who specializes in women’s clothes.
- Indian Muslims takes a look at reactions to the Kerala Muslim Marriage Bill.
- Yasmeen Khan explores British desis in comedy.
- A photograph exhibit on hejab is in the U.A.E.
- Sheikh Hasina’s election promises.
- The New Nation covers Begum Rokeya’s role in pioneering women’s rights in Bangladesh.
- Muslim women in Victoria, Australia report rising rates of racism, particularly against women African Muslims and women who wear headscarves.
- The Daily Star profiles artist Tamara al-Samerraei’s artwork.
- A Muslim woman in the U.K. claims that she was fired because she would not wear revealing clothes. More from Al Arabiya.
- On one Bahraini girl’s experience in a U.S. high school.
- The National speaks with internationally acclaimed architect Zaha Hadid.
- Lebanon is looking for domestic workers to import, despite the notorious rate of abuse. More on the subject here, here and here.
- Musafira interviews Omaima Abou-Bakr about science, history, and Islamic feminism.
- Forward Magazine profiles Asmahan.
- The continuing ordeal of an Algerian family forcefully deported from Britain.
- The Yemen Times writes about piece about a woman’s dowry.
- Today’s Zaman discusses the problems for Iraqi women and how they mustn’t be ignored by Turkey.
- Women in Lebanon can’t pass their citizenship to their children, and they’re sick and tired of it.
- Belgian police have arrested a woman they call an “al-Qaeda living legend.” More from Islam in Europe.
- The Boston Globe reports on how simply gathering firewood puts many women at risk for sexual assault.
- Morocco has removed its reservations regarding CEDAW.
- Several Muslim women have been barred from Georgia courtrooms in the U.S. because of their headscarves, and one was even arrested, but has been released. CAIR’s on it. More from The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, The Washington Post, IslamOnline, Jezebel, MuslimMatters, Feministing, Just Another Angry Black Muslim Woman?, and more from the AJC.
- CNews profiles Benazir Bawal, an Afghan Canadian policewoman.
- A new Lebanese magazine intends to be frankly and openly sexual.
- Tariq Ali ponders honor killing. Via Progressive Muslima News.
- On the progress of Bahraini women during Bahraini W0men’s Day. More here.
- Egyptian survivors of sexual harassment are speaking out. More from Gulfnews.
- The L.A. Times highlights the struggles of a lesbian Muslim. Via ProgressiveIslam.
- The Dubai film festival features several films by Palestinian women.
- Izzy Mo looks at the “Muslim Marriage Crisis” through a man’s eyes.
- The Daily News examines the Heba & Nadine murders.
- The Christian Science Monitor highlights an Iraqi theater group led by Ghada Hussein Al Almy.
- Remember Girls of Riyadh? It’s going to be a movie soon. And the author, Rajaa al Sanea, is shortlisted for the Dublin Literary Award.
- Pakistani filmmaker Ruhi Hamed’s film about forced marriage highlights the damage the practice does to women and their families.
- Aziz Poonawalla writes about the bikini and the burka.
- CNBC Arabiya will feature a new program that highlights businesswomen from the Arab world.
- Payvand News interviews artist Shahrzad Salehipour.
- Egypt’s The Daily News covers the blogosphere buzz created by the Birell “beer” ad. Unfortunately, it’s incomplete: it doesn’t feature the awesome post Ethar did.
- On how Bangladesh’s female former prime ministers are injecting Islam into their campaigns. Via ProgressiveIslam.
- The 15-year-old Iraqi girl who was arrested before she carried out a suicide bombing speaks.
- I can’t believe I didn’t include this in an earlier link list, because I really loved this article. Mona El Tahawy writes about racism in the Arab world.
- More news coverage about women-only banks in the Arabian peninsula.
- Egypt Today documents Aziza Nofal’s amazing volunteer work.
- A sweet story about finding someone to share a life with.
- Namira Saim may possibly be Dubai’s first female space tourist.
- Iranian women will be able to inherit their husband’s land following a decree by Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei.
- Yasmin Fostok speaks out about the rumors that she is or ever was a “pole dancer.”
- Does Queen Rania invite stereotypes? Via TalkIslam.
- Domestic maids without proper paperwork or authorization are on the rise in the Arabian Peninsula.
- American womens college Bryn Mawr may open a campus in the Abu Dhabi.
- On how Pakistan’s recent cabinet appointments are dangerous for women. Via ProgressiveIslam.
- The Times Online gushes over Syrian first lady Asma al-Assad.
- This is stupid.
- Al-Ahram Weekly interviews Samiha Ayoub.
- The Saudi Gazette looks at the supposed increase in divorces among Saudis as a result of studying abroad.
- Haneen Ajarneh is one of the finalists in the U.A.E.’s show Millions Poet.
- Lawyers and judges in Denmark are against a headscarf ban.
- Nadia Hijab writes about Arab feminism.
- The Campaign to End Fistula received an award of excellence from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
- Sufiah Yusof has reportedly given up sex work and is interested in social work.
- The Washington Post has more on the Iranian woman who has condemned her attacker to blinding by acid. Via Jezebel. More from Feministe.
- SaudiAmber gives her two cents on the Rahma campaign.
- Payvan News interivews Maral Farokhi.
- Inside Islam talks women and shari’a.
- Iraqi police say that the Nahla Hussein al-Shaly, the leader of the women’s league of the Kurdish Communist Party, has been murdered. May Allah give her peace and justice.
- The story of Leena, a Saudi girl with ADHD.
- The New York Times profiles Miss Pakistan. Via DeenPort.
- The U.S.’s first lady has a video conference with Afghan women in Kabul.
- MidEast Youth interviews Rana Kamil.
- Turkish Bulent Ersoy is cleared of all charges against her.
- The One Million Signatures campaign gets a new website.
- Why Afghan women are so nervous about negotiating with the Taleban.
MMW would like to give a special thanks to Hijab Style for providing us with a massive amount of links for this week and many others!
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Tags: Muslim women, News
Salaam Alaikum,
Without sounding like an old lady, but is the F word really necessary?
Waleykum salam!
Yes. Yes it was. Because what happened to this woman was a combination of things: racist, Islamophobic, hateful, shocking, unnecessary…I could go on and on.
But I try to make the Friday links brief, so I summed it up.
I think the woman who got fired for refusing to wear the dress is being ridiculous. She was working as a cocktail waitress serving alcohol for a living and now that she got fired she wants to use the “this is goes against my religious beliefs” excuse?. It’s just not flying with me. I think most people know that the general uniform of a cocktail waitress involves skimpy clothes. The smaller the better. The more attractive the woman the better. It’s all about boobs, butts, and legs. If she was unaware of this she must have been living under a rock somewhere. It’s like me getting a job making drinks at a strip club and then complaining when the owner wants me to wear hoochie clothes. It’s plain silly
@ anon: It sounds like you’re saying that she deserved what she got for getting a job at a bar, is that right? I think that’s a bit harsh, especially since we don’t know much about this woman. What if she had taken this job out of economic necessity? Besides, this is a bar, not a strip club. These two things are not synonymous.
Her reasons aside, I’m never a fan of the “she deserved it” line of thinking. No one deserves to be asked to do something they’re not comfortable with, no matter where they work or their (assumed) level of religious observance.
I’m sorry but what exactly are you talking about? I never said she deserved what she got for getting a job at a bar so I’m not sure where you’re getting that from.
It’s one thing to be fired from a job for wearing hijab or other religiously modest articles of clothing that have nothing to do with your job . It’s another thing entirely to take a job in an environment where you actually know that it’s expected that you should show off your assets and and whatnot because that all translates into more alcohol sales when you’re around drunken men but then refuse and use your religion as an excuse.
“No one deserves to be asked to do something they’re not comfortable with, no matter where they work or their (assumed) level of religious observance.”
I agree, but generally speaking it would be smart not take a job that you know directly conflicts with what you stand for
I’m feeling so mixed about this issue. I want to respect any woman’s right to dress as she pleases, but I also think we need to be realistic about the nature of the job. I don’t know anything about British culture, but in the U.S. it’s pretty standard that cocktail waitresses are there to provide some sort of sexual excitement, even if only in the form of sexy clothing, in addition to the food and drink.
I’m just shocked at the statistic from the article on Lebanese women. Five to one!? That’s downright hellacious. I think these women are deeply troubled to be so picky and shallow period, but when they’ve got that kind of competition it’s downright insanity. I really hope the author is exaggerating wildly.
I know it’s bad because I’ve had discussions with women in Lebanon and in the U.S. about it. I always thought about the Shi’a because that’s our community, but it makes sense that its a nationwide problem. I kind of feel like the Sheikhs need to step in and discourage men from marrying foreign women. When I was in Lebanon I heard a lot of talk (and saw a few examples, including attending the wedding of a similarly situated couple) amongst the Shi’a in the south about younger women bypassing men in their age range and seeking out older married men. They could tell how well he’d provide for her based on how he was providing for his current wife and children. As an African American Muslima, I can certainly relate to the sheer suckiocity of man shortages, that’s how I ended up with a Lebanese. Talk about irony!
Salaams,
I’m linking up a couple of the stories here at my blog, and I posted this there, but figured I’d put it here for feedback too. Am I on to something or is this a totally wild theory:
The Reno Gazette-Journal article excerpted below is a feature on Zainab Ali Al Mahari who is a foreign exchange student from Bahrain. Al Mahari is reported to count a Brazilian foreign exchange student among her new friends. My anecdotal observation: I recall that when my former stepdaughter began school, she formed a new group of friends that was entirely composed of bi-cultural immigrant children. I wonder whether Muslim children, when they lack a critical mass of other Muslims with which to form a peer group (I live in a suburb), seek out the next group of people with which they are likely to have a shared experience and affinity, which would be the internationals. Generally (an important qualifier on this thought), foreign cultures are more conservative and restrained than that in the US, which may be some comfort to Muslim parents who are worried about who will become their child’s new friends.
I’m also curious about how Muslims who reject public schools feel about foreign exchange programs that put foreign Muslim students into the same schools that they rejected for their own children.
Salam ladies,
I found this article interesting* for your Friday Links for Muslim women News, I would have e-mail it you to you Fatemah but I don’t know your site e-mail. It’s called:
“Muslim Ladies’ Cycling Club gaining popularity in UK”
http://www.iviews.com/Articles/articles.asp?ref=TT0811-3739
[...] talked about a Facebook campaign aiming to improve perception of spinsters, and overdosed on our Friday links. [...]
wow, that hijab strangling article was really fucked up.
[This comment has been edited to fit within moderation guidelines.]
[...] There’s an article in the Reno Gazette-Journal about Bahraini student Zainab Ali Al Mahari (bound to be known by, if not related to, someone reading this post) who is in the United States on an exchange programme. I was a little depressed by a comment made by the head teacher of the school she is studying at:[Al Mahari's] visit also has been about dispelling stereotypes about Muslims. That’s a goal of the YES program, which was created by the U.S. Congress after the tragedies of Sept. 11, 2001 to promote peace and understanding for future generations of Americans and Muslims.”The biggest (stereotype) some people have is that all Muslims are terrorists,” Al Mahari said. “I try to show people that isn’t true by how I act with them.”She and the other students at ICDA have realized they have much in common.”All kids recognize McDonald’s, Starbucks, iPods and YouTube,” said Allen Beebe, the school’s principal. “They really learn there is no difference.”(hat tip: Muslimah Media Watch) [...]