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The DSK Rape Victim is Everything but a Victim, According to the Media


Posted by sarahaji on 08 Jun 2011 / 0 Comments
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The media response to the Dominique Strauss-Kahn rape charges is predictably horrific. The salacious gossip can maintain itself for weeks: the victim lives in a complex for HIV-positive residents (no wait! She doesn’t); wears hijab; and is “pious and respectable.” No, you say, she’s not unattractive—she’s actually got great breasts? A full 57% of French […]

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Same-Sex Muslim Marriages Coming to Mosque Near You?


Posted by sarahaji on 02 Mar 2011 / 0 Comments
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In the last few years, the international emphasis on locating social rights within the Qur’an has primarily been driven by and for women. NGOs in Morocco, Malaysia, Jordan, Afghanistan, Tunisia, and countless other Muslim countries have rallied communities, encouraging them to look critically at the patriarchal structures that have dictated Qur’anic interpretation to date. Through […]

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Masking the Problem: Afghanistan’s “Niqab” Program


Posted by sarahaji on 11 Jan 2011 / 0 Comments
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Just when I thought we were past discussing the experiences of Muslim women in dichotomies and distorted imagery, CNN pulls out this gem about Afghanistan’s most talked-about talk show: “Niqab.” “The Mask,” as American media have translated it, features “Afghan women [who] dare to speak out on [the] taboo subject of abuse by husbands.” This […]

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Critical Mass of Badass: “Badass Muslimahs”


Posted by sarahaji on 23 Nov 2010 / 0 Comments
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A recent addition to the thousands of Tumblrs intended mostly for the edification of their own creators, Badass Muslimahs began as a project in mid-October 2010. The site’s creator, Sara, has little besides a small blurb to describe her Tumblr’s purpose—but then, words are not really the currency of Tumblr. (Founded in 2007, the microblogging […]

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Guiding Blight: The Real Girl’s Guide to Everything


Posted by sarahaji on 12 Oct 2010 / 0 Comments
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The Real Girl’s Guide to Everything Else, Strike.TV’s peppy new Web series, first struck me as ludicrous. Fast-paced and low-budget, it’s riddled with plot holes and inconsistencies, becoming more fantastical as the first season progresses. The writing lacks depth, the characters lack development, and the show’s thesis whacks you across the head with startling regularity. […]

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Not Such a Small World, After All: Disney’s Latest Discrimination


Posted by sarahaji on 09 Sep 2010 / 0 Comments
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In the latest hijab shake-down, Imane Boudlal was taken off the schedule as a hostess at Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel because she insisted upon her right to wear hijab to work. Boudlal, a Moroccan-born Muslim woman, already wore the hijab at home, but said that she learned of her Constitutional right to wear it to […]

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An Open Letter to Maureen Dowd


Posted by sarahaji on 13 Jul 2010 / 0 Comments
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Dear Maureen, I hear you’re back from your jaunt over in Saudi Arabia. Kudos to you for making it back from that big, bad place. Somebody get this woman the gin and tonic she deserves! First, a secret: I am so tired of frothy, pop-culture media and art about the question of veiling. It’s really […]

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New MMW Contributor!


Posted by sarahaji on 03 Jul 2010 / 0 Comments
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Salam, everyone! My name is Sara, and I’m a recent graduate of The University of Texas at Austin. My family is of Indian descent, but my parents and grandparents all lived and grew up largely in East Africa, and I was born in Toronto, Canada. I lived in the Ivory Coast for a few years […]

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When the Personal is Political: Dr. Samar Habib


Posted by sarahaji on 28 Jun 2010 / 0 Comments
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Those of you who have been following debates surrounding academic freedom might remember the story of Dr. Samar Habib (pictured below right), whose “Women in Arabic and Islamic Literature” course was cut from the University of Western Sydney schedule largely due to complaints by Muslim organizations like the Australian National Imams Council and Muslims for […]

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