The sophisticated and flirtatious Begum Nawazish Ali has been on Pakistani airwaves for a few years now. With people tuning in to watch her grill, joke around, and shamelessly flirt with her guests who include celebrities and politicians, her talk shows have been huge hits. (This shameless flirting demonstrated as she asks Bollywood star John […]

The Associated Press recently released a news piece titled by my local paper “Love story bolsters Islam’s image.” From the title alone, you’d think that Islam has never had a love story. The story implies that the film it covers is the first to portray Islam positively. We here at MMW tend to cover negative […]

Women in Iraq face mean streets when they drive. Abu Dhabi holds its first international fashion week, which include fashions from Rabia Z. The man who shot and killed Alia Ansari has been sentenced to jail. Muslim women in India get a new, more equitable marriage law. Mahboba Ahdyar braves the Taliban and conservative cultural […]

I was walking through the aisles in the grocery store the other day when a particular product made me do a double take. I had to backtrack so I could see if what I thought I saw was what I actually saw. And unfortunately it was. It was a box of Canadian label President’s Choice […]

MMW thanks Anne for the tip! The soap opera As the World Turns has recently introduced a Muslim character: Ameera Ali Aziz, an Iraqi woman. Played by the Iranian-American Tala Ashe, Ameera appears one day and becomes entangled in the other characters’ lives. Here’s the basic summary: Following the death of her mother, who was […]

This was written by Tami, and originally published at What Tami Said. I have always been on the fence about Jezebel, the female-focused entry into the Gawker Media family of Web sites, described as: …celebrity, fashion, and sex without the airbrushing. The witty, informative tone draws a readership that is intelligent and sophisticated, but still […]

On Saturday and Sunday, CNN ran a program called On Deadly Ground: The Women of Iraq. Hosted by Arwa Damon, the program briefly profiled several women who live in Iraq; at the beginning, she promises, “You will meet the women of Iraq.” The program opens on a street somewhere in Baghdad: unpaved, muddy, with trash […]

Muslim feminist perspectives on International Women’s Day. Muslim women in Hyderabad, India, earn income through group cooperatives and microfinancing. Arab News looks at the difficult position of “married spinsters.” Women scholars and activists in Lucknow, India, draft a female-friendly nikahnama. Headscarf barrier lifted for those seeking Swiss citizenship. The Mansoojat Foundation helps put on a […]

I recently came across what I thought of as a beautiful poem, entitled I Am Woman – Celebrate Me, written by Canadian Muslim feminist and activist, Raheel Raza. Addressing issues of sexism, racism, and misogyny among others, this poem was written by Raza and presented to WOMANVOICE, on Dec 6, 2004 to celebrate the International […]

Last month, Zeynab commented on the portrayal of Muslim women in the Vagina Monologues, noting that there are no portrayals of positive sexual experiences by Muslim women. I attended a performance of the Vagina Monologues for the first time last week and noticed her observations. Indeed Muslim women were lacking from the moaning sketch. In […]