Eid mubarak to you all! Many news stories this week did, of course, feature the annual pilgrimage, or hajj, which ends today, Eid ul Adha. The BBC reports that more young Muslims decide to make the pilgrimage, and shares stories of three young British women who did the pilgrimage at a young age. Some female pilgrims from Nigeria have allegedly been raped and assaulted while in Saudi Arabia for the hajj.
The Russian headscarf debate highlights the grievances in the Russian Muslim community. Meanwhile in Chechnya, Islam is playing an increasing role in the classroom.
An Islamic charity in the UK is opening temporary hostels that meet the needs of homeless Muslim women.
Another Pakistani girl, Hina Khan, is being threatened by the Taliban for speaking out. Her family says that they have not received any protection from the government so far. The fellow students of Malala Yousufzai are, meanwhile, living in fear for their safety too.
Many of Malaysia’s female popstars use social media to appeal to their fans, and with success.
Pakistani schoolgirls pray for the recovery of Malala Yousufzai in Peshawar. Image by A Majeed/AFP/Getty.
A clause in Tunisia’s new constitution, which states that men and women “should complement each other in the household”, has caused outrage in the country.
British Muslim war heroine Noor Inayat Khan is finally honored with a statue, almost 70 years after she was shot on mission as a spy by the SS in Dachau.
Last month in Pakistan, a blood feud between two tribes was ended by the “gift” of 13 young girls to the other tribe as brides. The settlement was agreed upon by elders of the two tribes.
Helsingin Sanomat features the story of Finnish-Somali teenager Halima, who was sent back to Somalia by her father for becoming too Finnish.
Collecting firewood is a risky business for women in Darfur, where rape is a constant threat, but a simple stove, introduced by the World Food Programme, has changed the lives of many Darfuri women.
The cruel beheading of 25-year-old Mahgul, a newlywed, by her mother-in-law and her nephew, is the latest in a trend of murders of women in Afghanistan. May Allah grant her justice and eternal peace.
Another piece looking at the situation of Egyptian women after the revolution suggests that the revolution has made life worse for the female population.
Zubaida al-Meeki was the first female officer to publicly announce her defection from the Syrian government forces, and has since been training new recruits for the Free Syria Army.
Qantara.de takes another look at Turkish Islamic fashion magazine Ala, which promotes a fashion style that consistently includes the headscarf and is increasingly popular among middle class women in Turkey.
For the first time in Mauritania courses are being launched to train female Islamic clerics.
The number of cases of sexual violence against women is on the rise in Pakistan’s Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa region.
Human trafficking and forced prostitution are thriving in Afghanistan, and with a population that is highly unaware about sexual transmitted diseases and HIV and a government that seems to be unwilling to tackle the problem, the situation of many of these women and girls only deteriorates.