I have a friend who is obsessed with TED Talks, and who recently sent me link to this TEDx Talk with the title “I am a mad Arabian woman.” I rolled my eyes a little. Anything with the word “Arabian” (when its not followed by the word “horse”) makes me roll my eyes. But then, […]

I was expecting a review copy of the book She Wore Red Trainers in my mailbox any time. It was early September, the time of year when the kids start school, get busy with homework, enroll in a soccer team, and so on, so it is the time of year when I have no time […]

Last week over 200 women and girls, many of them minors, were reportedly raped in North Darfur by Sudanese military men. Later this week, two young women have been gang-raped in Central Darfur, Sudan. Meanwhile, Sudan has denied access to the UN in Darfur to investigate the report of the mass rape. According to a report, ISIL is […]

Previously published on the author’s personal blog. A few days ago, my husband killed a small mouse which had been living in our kitchen for some time (possibly a year, if it’s the same one). He meant to trap it and release it but in a moment of panic he killed it (while apologising to […]

Despite international condemnation and protest, last weekend Reyhaneh Jabbari was hanged in Iran for killing her rapist. Later this week an opposition groups shared her powerful last message. French (visible) Muslim women are facing increasingly violent harassment, often connected to the country’s attitude towards religious garb, and Muslim head coverings in particular. Palestinian women have […]

The French “niqab” ban (burqa ban, whatever ban…call it what you will) of October 2010 has not faded away from the public consciousness in France at all. What I had originally hoped was just right-wing propaganda has turned out to be, since its entry into force in April 2011, part and parcel of a unique […]

This is not the first time I have discussed media coverage of ‘Latin’ Converts to Islam. In fact, I have written about how they are depicted in terms of their relationships, the ways in which Indigenous converts from Latin America puzzle the media, and how ‘Latina’ women are said to be the new face of Islam. […]

Iran has arrested four men in connection to the acid attacks on women in the Iranian city of Esfahan. Large numbers of Iranians have demonstrated against the attacks, allegedly aimed at women that were not properly veiled, in the cities of Esfahan and Tehran. Last week, Nigeria’s government announced a truce with Boko Haram, which was broken by […]

Last week, Pakistani education activist Malala Yousafzai was declared a co-winner of the coveted Nobel Peace Prize, along with activist Kailash Satyarthi. Since then there have been numerous articles, support pieces and critiques addressing her win, and the expected conspiracy theories. The announcement even reheated a discussion on the validity and relevance of the Nobel Peace […]

This week, I came across the video “Things not to do in the masjid” in my Facebook feed. The two guys behind the video, Americans of Afghani background Shukran and Roshan under the moniker SRBRosEntertainment, acted out 18 different scenarios with another actor. The video is clearly a hit, with over 960,000 views to date. […]