The International Rescue Committee recently sent photographer Meredith Hutchison to meet with young Syrian girls in two refugee camps in Jordan and ask them about their hopes and dreams. The project, called Vision Not Victim, saw the girls draw pictures of what they want to be when they grew up, now that they have escaped war.

Stephanie Kurlow is a 14 years old girl from Sydney, Australia, who felt the need to quit ballet after converting to Islam. She said that she couldn’t find a school who would accept her wearing a hijab to class. But today, she is working again to become the first Muslim hijabi ballerina in the world.

Fencer Ibtihaj Muhammad hasn’t earned an Olympic medal just yet, but she is already making history. The 30-year-old Maplewood, New Jersey, native will be the first U.S. athlete to compete in the Olympic Games in a hijab, a headscarf worn by some Muslim women to show modesty.

Far from being powerless, Muslim women are making small choices that could lead to big changes in the Arab world. In an article for National Geographic, Simon Worrall explores how Muslim women are challenging the status quo.

Anousheh Ansari is a computer scientist, an entrepreneur, and the first Muslim woman to go to space – not to mention the first woman to do so using her own funds. Currently, she is in Singapore to support the UN Women Singapore Committee for ending violence against women.

Less than a week after the Dolce & Gabbana announcement, blogger, designer and pharmacist Zulfiye Tufa showed off an impressive alternative. Her pop-up shop is giving Muslim women the modest clothes they really want.

Hijarbie is an Instagram account featuring “mini hjiab fashion” and provides young Muslim girls a doll that looks like them. In the Instagram posts, Haneefah ditches miniskirts and bikinis for stylish full-covered outfits and the headscarf.

Uzma Jalaluddin writes about she keeps up with hijab chic. She says: “The first hijab I fell in love with was a large white cotton triangle bordered with three inches of dangling lace fringe. I tied the scarf in the only style that all truly cool hijabis were sporting: a twisty headband rolled on top, with a bandana underneath.”