It can sometimes be interesting (i.e. RIDICULOUS) to hear the advice of a man on how women can achieve equality. Now, of course men can be feminists…I see it all the time. Every movement needs allies and the feminist movement is no exception. However, the first and (by far) most important thing that men can […]

I want to take a temporary (temporary, I promise!) break from our moratorium on headscarves to highlight this article, which actually deals with many of the points I brought up in a post a while ago, asking why people get so caught up in headscarves and burqas when there are so many bigger fish to […]

“Lesbian film” was one sensationalist headline I read while researching up and coming Egyptian director Aiten Amin’s short 10 minute film Ragelha (‘Her man’). I admit I was hesitant to critique the movie in my post, given the response we had when we discussed the documentary Gay Muslims and the movie A Jihad for Love.* […]

Knowing that my regular post day, Thursday, was quickly sneaking up on me, I frantically searched the internet for something to cover. I used the keywords “Muslim women”, “media,” “news,” and finally “Pakistani women” (trying to cover South Asia). And the majority of the stories I came across in news were very negative. Most of […]

Sexual harassment is a problem that affects women in all societies. Muslim societies are no exception. Where there is patriarchy, there will be sexual harassment. In both Muslim and non-Muslim societies, the “solution” to sexual harassment has always fallen on women. “Don’t dress in revealing clothes, don’t flirt, don’t stay out alone, etc.” Even at […]

We hope to have a longer analysis once Ethar is available in mid-August, but the issue is too hot not to talk about right now. The issue I’m speaking of is the Turkish soap opera Noor, which has become hugely popular in the Arab world despite having flopped in Turkey. It’s been getting all kinds […]

Fashion designers are now starting to see head scarves as the latest hot fashion trend. In an IslamOnline article, various designers were quoted about this new trend. Two words that came up often were”modesty” and “chastity”. Apparently, fashion designers want to show that modesty, chastity, and elegance are not mutually exclusive. Although the designers said […]

Every week, the Friday links here at Muslimah Media Watch include several stories about Muslim women’s clothing. Our posts often cover these issues as well. We look at definitions of veiling and modesty, and how these are perceived by Muslim and non-Muslim media. How some Muslim women are often seen as oppressed by their clothing, […]

Last week, I critiqued the first of two articles on modesty written by Anam Majeed. Today I’ll look at the second piece – Islam, Modesty, and Sex in the West – Part II. This time, Majeed begins with a GQ interview with fashion designer Miuccia Prada in which she critiques the show Sex and the […]

Mona Eltahawy recently did an interview with Ron Kuby on Air America Radio on the recent New York Times articles about hymen reconstruction, a Moroccan couple in France who divorced because the wife was not a virgin, and feminism in Islam. The interview was 12 minutes, which is longer than those five segments you see […]