Malaysia recently concluded its fifth peaceful democratic protest last month to call for a ‘cleaner’ electoral system in the country. Organised by the Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections (Bersih, or ‘clean’ in the Malay language), the rally aimed to raise awareness of systemic corruption in government institutions and of the current polling process. Most […]

Editor’s note: This is the first of two MMW reviews of the book Muslim Mothering: Global Histories, Theories, and Practices. This article looks at chapters 4, 10, and 11 from Muslim mothering: Global histories, theories, and practices (2016), edited by Margaret Aziza Pappano and Dana M. Olwan. I chose to look at these three chapters […]

A few days ago, Malaysian online news platform Malay Mail Online reported on how some married Muslim men in Malaysia are using “halal speed dating” to find a second wife. Halal Speed Dating (HSD) is a matchmaking platform for Muslims, co-founded by Malaysian couple Munirah Tunai Shamsidi and Zuhri Yuhyi. Together they run matchmaking events […]

One of the biggest problems that Muslim women face today is the need to deconstruct and reconstruct narratives of ourselves in the media. (That’s why Muslimah Media Watch exists, amirite?) A recent interview of  Professor Jackie Ying, a Chinese Muslim scientist in Singapore, by a Singaporean Malay language news channel shows that this need can […]

I recently became aware of rape threats made on social media towards Datuk Noor Farida Ariffin, a well-respected former Malaysian ambassador to the Netherlands. Also a lawyer, she was the co-founder of Sisters in Islam, a local non-governmental organisation for women’s rights, and is the spokesperson of a local group of prominent Malays called G25. […]

Hijab-shaming is a favourite activity for some Muslims, both on-and offline. In fact, just last month I attended a religious class where the teacher spent a good half hour doing just that (I had to stop going for my mental health). While meeting up with a girlfriend last week, she regaled me with the details […]

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 […]

British Pakistani Azi Ahmed has written a book called ‘World’s Apart’, about her experience as a Muslim training to join the SAS (Special Air Service). Julia Hartley Brewer investigates the motivations of British Muslim women who are joining Isis, arguing that they are seeking “freedom” from family members who control their lives, expecting them to “live in […]

A local council in Victoria, Australia asked non-Muslim women to wear hijabs to raise awareness and combat islamophobia, stirring controversy.   A group of Muslim Pakistani-American women are pushing the boundaries on how Muslim women are perceived, especially when it comes to the comedy scene. They say: “Nobody expects Muslim women to be comedians.”   […]

Previously published on the author’s personal blog. A few days ago, my husband killed a small mouse which had been living in our kitchen for some time (possibly a year, if it’s the same one). He meant to trap it and release it but in a moment of panic he killed it (while apologising to […]