AKI reported last week that the result of Pakistan’s elections will boost counter-terrorism efforts. This was the sole picture posted along with their story. What do Pakistani elections and counter-terrorism efforts that have to do with niqabis? There isn’t anything in the story about women or women who wear niqab. Does AKI think that niqab […]

MMW thanks Forsoothsayer for the tip! The New York Times’ has a section for more in-depth analysis of news stories, entitled “The Lede” and authored by Mike Nizza. On February 19, 2008, writer Nadim Audi talked to some Egyptian university students about their ideas and their reaction to the Times’ earlier piece about frustrated Egyptian […]

A woman detonates a bomb in the Karrada district of central Baghdad. The amount of women in the U.A.E. cabinet has doubled. But don’t get all excited: that means there are now four women instead of two in a 29-member cabinet. Yippy skippy. MRZine reviews Lara Deeb’s book An Enchanted Modern: Gender and Public Piety […]

Qatar’s Gulf Times published three different articles in its February 15, 2008 “Islam” section that have an unsettling theme: telling women how to act. The first article, by Fatima Barakatullah, is titled “Reviving Our Sense of Gheerah,” and has run in several other outlets that are specific to conservative Islamic interpretations. For any readers unfamiliar […]

We didn’t know about this until it was published; thanks to Andi for giving us the tip! Muslimah Media Watch was profiled in Utne magazine as part of a larger story on feminist websites! The author got our name wrong, but any publicity is good publicity, right? Anyway, go read about us. While you’re at […]

The secret life of the Middle Eastern Muslim woman is a hot topic. In bookstores around the world, books line the shelves displaying covers of teasing confessionals — desert princesses, seductive eyes lined with makeup behind a niqab, life when related to a terrorist, the disturbing details of what Muslims do to their women. These […]

I attended the Vagina Monologues last week. This is the fourth year in a row that I’ve seen it; I’m a big fan of the ideas behind it, of the play itself, and of the activism it entails. This year is also the tenth anniversary of the play; you can read more about it here. […]

When I read the Daily Mail article from the UK entitled I was forced to marry my cousin – it’s normal in my culture, but SO WRONG all I could say was ugh! Why? Let me explain. The article describes the experiences of a Pakistani-British woman, Khaleda, who was forced to marry her father’s cousin, […]

  Mohja Kahf discusses how Muslim women are viewed in U.S. media. Alefia Hussain of the Daily Times looks at what Pakistani elections have to offer women. The Dutch government decides not to enact an outright ban on the burqa, but seeks to discourage women from wearing it. Sultan Qaboos University in Oman studies women’s […]

This sloppy article from CNN talks about how Saudi Arabia overreacts to Valentine’s Day every year and bans all things red in an attempt to quash any plans Saudis have to celebrate the holiday. The Saudi government considers Valentine’s Day to be un-Islamic and thus bans roses, teddy bears, and anything Valentine-related. So the article […]