Last month, Waterstones Book Store in London hosted Muslim Women Speak, “a micro-festival of interactive sessions curated, chaired and presented exclusively by Muslim women.” The festival was curated by Zeba Talkhani and was designed to let Muslim women speak about their own experiences in the publishing and writing industry in the UK. Shereen Malherbe spoke […]

I recently discovered Not Done With Life Yet on my bookshelf and I was surprised it had hidden itself away from me for the last year. I received it as a gift from my cousin on my last trip to Palestine. She handed it to me at the end of my trip when I had […]

Swimwear is often a contentious is­sue with women around the world and with summer upon us in the northern hemisphere, this year is no exception. From body consciousness to practicality, what swimwear you buy for the summer season can often be a difficult decision. But at least what to buy and wear remains your choice. […]

This guide is a light-hearted insight into some of my experiences embarking on Ramadan for the first time. It goes without saying that this might not apply or be relevant for everyone, but I wanted to share it nonetheless, so others who might be fasting for the first time don’t feel alone in their Ramadan […]

At the recent three-day Film & Comic Convention in Dubai, I was struck by the number of young, female collective art groups from the Gulf region. One example of such a collective, Light Studio, has members who travel from Saudi Arabia to attend conventions such as this in order to sell and promote the work […]

In the UK, Sadiq Khan, the first Muslim MP for Labour, is campaigning to be the mayor of London. In recent news, comments from an interview with him stated, ‘Questions need to be asked about why Muslim women wear hijabs’. Now at first glance, I thought this must have been quoted wrong. After all, being […]

With an accolade of awards and recognition for her screenwriting, including her work in progress film, Jinn which has already received several high ratings on the industry script database, Shereen Malherbe speaks to filmmaker Nijla Mu’min about her new highly anticipated first feature film. SM: Tells us about your film Jinn in a snapshot. NM: […]

At the start of 2016, The Guardian reported a ‘survey of workforce at 34 book publishers and eight review journals in [the] US reveals 79% of staff are white’. It isn’t a surprise that bookstores around the UK tend to reflect this lack of diversity, with few non-dominant narratives or books by people of colour, […]

This week I interviewed Yasmin Choudhury, winner of the Entrepreneur of the Year at the British Muslim Awards for her social entrepreneurship business, Lovedesh. Waking up early to talk to me on a Saturday morning, Yasmin was full of energy, despite the time. She jumped straight in with the background on how Lovedesh started. During […]

I am assuming David Cameron’s ‘plans to “help” more Muslim women to speak fluent English’ were supposed to come across as a positive move? How can this education programme be seen as anything but positive when learning the country’s language is such an important tool for empowerment and social inclusion? Several commentators have made this […]