Four years ago I wrote “How are Muslim Women doing in Political Cartoons,” a piece that analyzed the use of gendered and islamophobic language in Anglophone political cartoons. At the time, I was writing my undergraduate thesis, which focused on media coverage of First Ladies in Mexico, particularly in political cartoons. Later that year, I […]

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, […]

The issue of violence against women in Pakistan has received some international press in the last week or so. First, with Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, a Pakistani-Canadian filmmaker, winning an Oscar for A Girl in the River: The Price of Forgiveness, her documentary about Saba Qaiser, a survivor of an attempted “honour killing”. This was followed by […]

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 […]

Earlier this month, the appearance of Indonesia’s first halal-certified hijab, sold and promoted by Indonesian fashion company Zoya, provoked equal parts protest and support. According to the certification given by the Indonesian Ulama Council (MUI), Zoya’s hijabs are ‘halal’ because the fabrics are produced with the use of only plant-based emulsifiers, and not those made […]

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 […]

After almost 57 years of body-image debate, Barbie finally got an update. Mattel, Barbie’s producer, has announced that they will start issuing dolls that reflect more realistic body types.  At almost the same time, however, another Barbie-related sensation has been sweeping the web: Hijarbie.  Nigerian medical scientist and fashion enthusiast Haneefa Adam decided to start […]

This post was originally written by Shehnaz Haqqani, and originally published at her blog, Freedom from the Forbidden.  A slightly shorter version of the review was published in the American Journal of Islamic Social Sciences, vol. 33, Issue number 1, Winter 2016.  It is reposted here with permission from the editor. At a time when […]

 Amaal Said, a 20-year-old Danish-Somali photographer and poet, has quickly garnered a following through not only her striking selfies, but also in the illuminating portraits she makes of fellow Londoners. How the unique Arabimalayalam dialect came in handy to Muslim women in Kerala to connect with each other and overcome muting efforts from conservative sections […]

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 […]