I recently penned a letter to a Canadian journalist whose article was sent to me by a friend. For the most part, it was a  fantastic piece commenting on the funding inequalities of women in sports – particularly soccer. As a player, coach and supporter of women’s soccer. I was pleased to read it. Until […]

“Being free from shame is a beautiful freedom” Corona is Bushra Rehman’s riveting first novel. The first sentence of the book begins by smashing assumptions; we think “Corona” and think alcoholic beverage. Well, I certainly do. But that’s not what Rehman is writing about. “Corona, and I’m not talking about the beer. I’m talking about […]

Continuing our tradition of sharing reflections on Eid (see our posts from Eid-ul-Adha last year, in two parts, and from Eid-ul-Fitr this year), today we’ll be posting four reflections from Eid last week, written by Eren, Izzie, Krista, and Shireen. This Eid-ul-Adha was the first one I have not attended salah. Due to recent knee surgery, attending the […]

*WARNING: POSSIBLE CAVITY-INDUCING PIECE* I have a tale to tell. It’s a story about a youngish Muslimah woman of colour who happens to be a football fanatic. Synopsis: She comes across #hijabdesk-worthy Kickstarter initiative and critiques the project of two, privileged, white women working in Africa. Sounds familiar, right? You may think you know what […]

“I am airing dirty laundry, because it needs to get washed” – Hind Makki “Children of Adam, take your pleasantness to every Mosque.” (Qur’an 7:31) How often have we as Muslim women been enthusiastic about praying in a new space, and have attended a new masjid only to be discouraged by the lack of accommodation, […]

Every Ramadan, there are delicious food articles and recipe ideas published on various sites and magazines. They are often inspired by peoples’ lived experience with food, memories of traditions and practical ideas for meal preparation in Ramadan. A delicious chutney accompanying a home-cooked samosa, fresh juices, Rooh Azfa cocktails, traditional rice dishes, divinely prepared meats […]

Last year, I got a call from a young cousin who informed me, with sheer glee, that the new One Direction music video featured a young Muslim in hijab. Those few seconds in the video that highlighted a giddy, veiled teenager were a breakthrough for young identifiable Muslimahs in the world. I think this meant […]

Mainstream media often incites rebuttals from Muslim women defending themselves against vapid stereotypes and negative portrayals. Ostensibly, these include “We are not oppressed,” ”We play sports,” “We are educated and have choices,” “We have agency and support those who do not,” and so on and so forth.  Muslim women writing about inspiring feats of Muslim […]

When I was growing up in a small city on Canada’s East Coast, many of my classmates had no idea where Pakistan was located. It was the mid-eighties and I was unable to convince them I was NOT Indian just because both my parents were born in India. I decided to do an extensive geography […]