The past couple of months have felt like a dam has broken as more and more women (and men) come forward to disclose their experiences with sexual harassment and/or assault and to name their abusers. I still am not sure what it is about this moment that has made people listen to the survivors, because […]

I grew up with hundreds of fond memories when I moved in the third grade to a house of baby-pink bricks in the Deep South of the United States. There was a tree in the yard for my sisters and me to climb during the summer months and to avoid altogether during the spring when […]

As many of you know by now, tragically, Pakistani social media star Qandeel Baloch was recently murdered by her brother. Inna lillahi wa inna illaihi rajaioon (to God we belong and to God we return). I hadn’t followed her but I had known of her. Even without following her I knew she was a big […]

I have a crush on a muppet. Yes, my most recent girl-crush is on a fuzzy magenta puppet in vibrant dresses. I am smitten with Sesame Street’s newest family member from Afghanistan: Zari. I grew up watching Sesame Street. My mom tells me how my schedule as a preschooler was set around watching Ernie & […]

In February, The Daily Beast published this story on Nadia Ali, a Pakistani-American porn star who is, as the article describes, “a 24-year-old…. first-generation American from Pakistan. She’s been in the adult industry for just a year, but doesn’t mind pushing religious boundaries in the name of XXX entertainment. Oh, and she’s also a practicing […]

Recently, The Atlantic posted a short film produced by the Thomas Reuters Foundation (trust.org) about one Syrian woman’s new life, Starting Over in the Netherlands. It begins by showing a picturesque view of the city, Kessel-Eik, as the woman, Hanadi, bikes through it. As a tranquil melody plays, we see a church behind trees, a […]

Saraswati, a make up artist from Malaysia, has captured the attention of thousands on Instagram, after using her hijab to help transform herself into popular Disney characters. Under the name Queen of Luna, Saraswati has shared over 300 posts with her 27,000 followers – each of them incredible and accurate recreations of different cartoons and […]

CNN recently ran a story on its website, “‘I am you:’ American Muslims on faith — and fear,” featuring five American Muslims. The piece introduced a range of Muslims to the wider American public in a report replete with text, videos and statistical charts. The people featured came from different backgrounds, ages, and careers. But […]

In a recent VICE News short documentary, The Kohistan Story: Killing for Honor, producers Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy and Saad Zuberi, along with host Hani Taha, tell the story of five young women and three young men who were killed in Kohistan, KPK, Pakistan in an apparent “honour killing.” As VICE explains: “In May 2012, a grainy […]

Upon learning about the Paris attacks and the #PrayforParis hashtag that emerged, I felt many things – but I was not shocked. Violence does not shock me. As a woman of colour and as an immigrant, it is part of my surroundings. I have become desensitized to violence. If you are like me and grew […]