After a pregnant woman in hijab was assaulted and harassed in Stockholm, Sweden, Swedish women and men took to social media wearing headscarves to show support. Last Tuesday, the Swedish Minister of Justice met with activists demanding action. A Somali woman alleges that she has been abducted, drugged and gang-raped by African Union peacekeepers; a recent […]

When you google the possible variations of these words: Women, Role & Arab Spring, you will be faced with massive numbers of articles, studies and interviews that examine thoroughly women’s involvement in the Arab Spring. The prevalent sentiment of such works revolves around how it’s newsworthy that “Women played an active role during the Arab […]

It gets me every time… it makes me upset and irrationally angry. The stereotyping, the orientalist exoticism and the appropriation are only some of the things that go on when niqab, hijabs and “Muslim clothing” in general is used for profit by non-Muslim Western stars. Today M.I.A., who was once described by Time Magazine as […]

I recently read Melody Moezzi’s new memoir, Haldol and Hyacinths: A Bipolar Life. In the book, Moezzi bravely portrays her diagnosis with bipolar disorder, focusing briefly before her mental illness is diagnosed through to a point when she receives an accurate diagnosis and treatment. While much of the book hauntingly illustrates the incredible highs and […]

Last week was Eid-ul-Fitr, and for that occasion the Saudi Gazette visited a care home for elderly women, where nothing is done for the residents to make this holiday special in any way. Chicago resident Halima Qancaro, originally from Ethiopia, is also spending the Eid on her own, and she shares her remarkable and tragic […]

As one final addition to our Ramadan 2013 posts, we wanted to share a series of reflections on how Eid was spent among some of our writers. Writing, respectively, from South Africa, Pakistan, Canada, and Kuwait, MMW bloggers Safiyyah, Merium, Shireen, and wood turtle bring us their experiences of food, gender issues, politics, and celebration. […]

In Ramadan this year, a video made by Maznah Yusof, a 38 year-old Muslim woman dog trainer, caused controversy in Malaysia. Three years ago, she had created and uploaded a video of her and her dogs in celebration of Eid ul-Fitr. The video shows her walking her dogs on a street as the takbir (chanting […]

This post was written by guest contributor Fakhra Hassan (@DragittotheTop). “Fatness and obesity in Lesbian, Bisexual and Trans (LBT) women are a result of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) – self-inflicted abuse on the body in order to shun any unwanted sexual attention or emotional interest from people,” said Dr Pinar Ilkkaracan of Turkey, at the […]

Eid Mubarak!  I hope that all of our readers celebrating had a wonderful holiday. MMW’s Ramadan series this year featured 23 posts, written by MMW writers and guest contributors writing from 12 different countries, on issues of food, community, family, solitude, epiphanies, and struggles.  Click here to go back through any of the posts you […]

Every summer thousands of underage Egyptian girls are sold in (temporary) marriage by their families to Arab Gulf men. It is said that some girls have married 60 times before they turn 18. Slowly but surely Iraqi women are becoming increasingly visible and have more presence, especially in the fields of education and business, but sexual (verbal) abuse remains prevalent, […]