Things to Know About!
U.S. Olympic fencer Ibtihaj Muhammad shows off a new Barbie doll in her image- via The Star.
- Barbie’s latest doll is modeled after Olympic fencer Ibtihaj Muhammad. The doll was revealed at the Glamour Women of the Year awards in New York. Muhammad expressed that having a doll modeled on a strong Muslim woman is “revolutionary.”
- Yoga has become an “approved” sports activity in Saudi Arabia. Nouf Marwaai, a Yoga instructor, campaigned for the practice to be approved since 2005.
- Actress-Writer, Fawzia Mirza, discusses queerness and Muslim identity, and the challenges of “coming out” outside of Western contexts.
Must See!
Sally look (The Nightmare Before Christmas) by Saraswati Suharto- via Rojak Daily.
- Samah Ali, a Kenyan-Somali, black, Muslim and Canadian, explores what being an immigrant with hyphenated identities looks like in Canada. Her film Hyphen-Nation won second place in the Western Undergraduate Film Festival and a prize for journalistic excellence in student media from the Canadian Association of University Teachers. It was also recently presented at the Regent Park Film Festival in Toronto.
- Narges Abyar’s film “Nafas” has been selected as Iran’s official submission to the 90th Academy Awards in the Best Foreign Language Film category. Despite the fact that President Hassan Rouhani has promised to increase women’s participation in film, the submission has been controversial for some political and religious elites.
- Saraswati Suharto, a Malaysian makeup artist and cosplayer, incorporates hijab into amazing looks. Her work went viral last year after she presented Disney-inspired looks. She explains, I am both a Muslim woman and a geek. I think of innovative ways of incorporating my hijab into the makeup looks that I create as well as the costume ideas that enhances and completes the look.”
The Wall of Shame…
Henda Ayari, one of the women accusing Tariq Ramadan of sexual abuse- via the Daily Mail.
- Hours after the Westminster terror attack a picture of a Muslim woman walking past victims while looking at her phone was released. The picture caused outrage on social media, which turned to anti-immigrant and anti-Black narratives. This past week it was revealed that the account that circulated the misleading image was actually an online troll.
- Tariq Ramadan is taking a leave of absence from Oxford University after being accused by multiple Muslim women of sexual abuse, including writer Henda Ayari.
- Add to dictionary Muslims are fleeing Burma/Myanmar due to genocide. However, the government has used the “overpopulation” narrative to justify why the Rohingya are not welcome. The narrative is also common in other contexts, including Europe and North America.
- The Nigerian Military has implemented a policy reversal by excluding female cadets from the Nigerian Defence Academy. While no official explanation has been provided, some media outlets suggest that the policy changes are the result of political pressures from Muslim leaders who disagree with women achieving high ranks in the military and giving orders to men.
Great Pieces by Muslim Women
- How to Reach Muslim Women (Hint: They’re Not an Aesthetic) by Nafisa Bakkar.
- Muslim Women, Taking off Hijabs is Assault & Hate Crime by Layla Abdullah-Poulos.
- I’m A Bisexual Muslim Woman From Rajasthan, And My Faith Gives Me Inspiration by Sabah Maharaj.
