I was shocked to read recently about evidence of women who were filmed giving two-hour lectures in London in secret closed women-only meetings in community centres ‘glorifying’ ISIS to women and children. Hannah Stuart, a counter-terrorism expert with the Henry Jackson society, labelled the presence of young girls and children “particularly worrying,” in regards […]

Brick Walls by  Saadia Faruqi is a collection of seven short stories set in Pakistan, featuring a diverse cast of characters, from Asma, a widow struggling to feed her child, to the priveleged Rabia, who finds that wealth does not always protect women, to the precocious ten year old Nida, an aspiring cricketer who is […]

A new magazine is “making waves” in Europe and North America—or so it would seem from the media coverage. Al-Shamikha, a publication directed to women and published by Al-Fajr Media Centre (Al-Qaeda’s online propaganda distributor), has been defined as “Al-Qaeda’s Cosmopolitan” or “Jihad Cosmo.” The magazine, which is roughly 30 pages long, covers a variety […]

It’s hard not to judge a book by its cover, or in this case, an article by its headline, when the first words that scream out at you are: From bikinis to burkas: A Yemeni memoir. If your first thought is, “Not again. Haven’t we been down this cliché-littered road before?” then you’re not alone. […]