I spent much of my childhood and teenage years obsessed with anime and comics. Growing up in Mexico, I was part of a generation that saw the introduction of strong female characters in mainstream media, including anime, comics and TV shows. No more Candy Candy with her eternal emotional conflicts over boys, and no more […]

A year after she was elected as the Female Muslim MP in Malawi parliament, Aisha Mambo has vowed to use her new role to advocate for a larger representation of Muslim women in the country. Leading Muslim Organization Campaigns for Women-Friendly Mosques, calling on mosques across the country to be more inclusive of women. Nearly all […]

Muslim women in Morocco are demanding a female-only beach so they can enjoy the summer weather without having to worry about keeping their bodies covered. A progressive Mumbai-based Muslim women’s group has published a survey whose findings are so stark that they should, finally, put an end to any further debate on the urgent need […]

*Trigger Warning: Rape, Sexualized Violence, Misogyny* Toronto boasts a wonderfully diverse population. It is probably one of the most diverse cities in the world. And it is also home to the largest Muslim community in the country. There are different Islamic centres, and incredible organizations like Outburst! that advocate for the rights of Muslim women. […]

  In the Skin of A Jihadist by Anne Erelle (not her real name) is a book about a French journalist pretending to be an ISIS fan and interacting with a French-speaking jihadist via Skype. This sentence occurs on the first page: “Do you really love me, Mélodie murmurs, her voice childish and frail.” That one […]

Linda Sarsour is a woman in a hurry. Only 35, she has already helped to partly dismantle the New York Police Department’s program of spying on the city’s Muslims and has worked with officials in City Hall to close public schools for the observance of two of Islam’s most important holy days. The New York […]

What does it mean to ‘break’ a stereotype? Does it mean acting contrary to what society expects? Does it mean to be the first to do something? Does it mean to do something actually ground-breaking? Or does it mean to abide by what some else thinks is news worthy? A few weeks ago Al-Jazeera’s The […]

A Singaporean news channel produced a series of Youtube videos featuring selected athletes with disabilities, or para-athletes. One featured athlete is Aishah Samad, a shooter who had to have all four of her limbs amputated after going into septic shock and contracting gangrene in the hospital on the way home from a trip to China. […]

There are many not so nice things about being immediately recognizable as a Muslim in today’s world, but there are a few things that are, usually, nice. One of them is what I like to call the salam nod. You spot a fellow Muslim, and do a nod of acknowledgement, and depending on how you […]

A recent study has shown the number of Saudi women who do not marry young has shot up to four million, more than double the number five years ago, because apparently Saudi women prioritize employment and education over early marriage. A reader of The Arab American News, who had stopped at a traffic light with the […]