As a working mom, I’m used to feeling an anxiety rush in the days leading up to Ramadan. But this year, a new sickening sensation welcomed me as the first day of Ramadan was quickly approaching. I knew what caused it: the first week of Ramadan this year coincides with the last week of the […]

Sometimes I don’t know where to start when it comes to critiquing Indonesia’s media, especially television programs. There is so much gibberish that comes out of the TV screen – and increasingly so – these days that sometimes I feel my head is heavy with rants after watching just one program. Having seen so much […]

In a previous post, I talked a little about the 99 Hijab Stories book and why the idea of the book made me squirm. I don’t know how succesful the book has been, but it certainly has generated enough hype that a few months later an Indonesian TV channel announced that it would air (*drumroll*) […]

The recent debates on Quebec’s Charter of Values and on hijabis in Singaporean workplaces remind me of a woman that I know. Her name is Dr. Lailiyya. She was born in a small town in Java, the youngest girl of twelve children. When she was little, she suffered from polio. Her poor parents were unable […]

A few weeks ago, an Indonesian religious teacher triggered a debate on Twitter when he made a series of tweets regarding women. Among his tweets were: The strength of a woman is in her gentleness and maternal traits | what else could it be? | firm, strong, and fatherly? hehe.. Fyi, a pious husband loves […]

There are a number of reasons why I decided to contribute to this blog. One of them was because sometimes I find myself in a no-(wo)man’s land when it comes to media portrayals of Indonesian Muslim women in general. Years ago, I came across this meme about hijabs. The image on the bottom left struck […]

Okay, okay. I know I’m not supposed to write a media analysis this Ramadan. In fact, one of my resolutions this Ramadan is to leave the television off as much as possible for the whole month. With a few exceptions, of course. For example, I have to switch on the television during sahoor time to […]

Late last year, Aceng Fikri, a district chief in the West Java province, ignited public uproar when news leaked that he had divorced a 17-year-old teenager, Fany Octora, via text message. Aceng had married Fany for only four days in an unregistered ceremony as a second wife. According to his lawyer, Aceng complained that Fany […]

The weeks following the Boston bombing have been filled with media reports with all-too-familiar suspicion of Islam and –as Nicole explored in a recent post— hijab-wearing Muslim women. However, both local and international media largely missed an act of activism from my part of the world that had taken place even before Ann Coulter appeared […]