Whenever I encounter Asra Nomani’s works or see her in an interview, I usually wonder,“What is her point?” I don’t say this derisively. Is she trying to speak about gender inequality among the ummah? Is she trying to deal with gender norms in her own South Asian community? These questions formed in my mind as […]

This is a slightly edited version of an article written by Sahar, which originally appeared at Nuseiba. You can also read Yusra’s take on the debates. Recently, I saw the Doha Debates, which is a show that debates controversial political, social and religious issues.  Journalist and mediator Tim Sebastian proposes a motion and the speakers […]

There is already a consensus amongst Islamic scholars that makes this debate illegitimate based on the Quran and the Sunnah, therefore the debate rather futile unless you can undoubtedly prove that it is not Islamically illegitimate-something neither the proponents or opponents did.

It seems as of late, the media has taken a very keen interest in the personal details of the lives of Muslim women. My fellow writers here at MMW have discussed this phenomenon. The Associated Press is now adding to this by telling us how Hamas is getting in on the matchmaking business. The title […]

In early April, Mukhtar Mai, the Pakistani survivor of a tribal-ordered gang rape who prosecuted her rapists rather than accepting a tradition of suicide after rape, married her bodyguard, Nasir Abbas Gabol. Scathing condemnations of the marriage came from Pakistani writers, women’s groups, and news outlets. While the circumstances under which she married are troubling, […]

When I first read the BBC’s article on Tajik women who are left destitute because their Islamic marriages (nikaah) were not recognized by the secular government in Tajikistan, I have to admit that I cringed and felt a bit defensive. Here was another story portraying Muslim women as poor victims of Muslim men but, even […]

This is part two of our series on Muslim Personal Law in South Africa. Today, we will analyze media coverage of the bill. Check out part one here. Several mainstream newspapers across South Africa have been reporting on the MPL matter. How have Muslim women been portrayed in these articles? The Cape Argus article, for […]

This is the first of a two-series post on South Africa’s Muslim Personal Law bill. Today’s post will cover the history of the bill. The issue of Muslim Personal Law (MPL) in South Africa, which has been under scrutiny in the media recently, is a contentious one, with a volatile history that spans over two […]

This was written by Jamerican Muslimah and originally published (with extras) at her blog Talking it Plain. Recently, I was having a conversation with a group of my friends and were talking about what constitutes a gold digger. Are you a gold digger if you expect a man to have enough money to support your […]

I am a 21-year-old spinster. Yes, a spinster at 21. In my country, although many many Egyptian women are delaying getting married until they’re in their mid-to-late twenties, society still looks at them with a critical, disapproving gaze. “Men and women were made for one another. You are a sinister spinster.” “Better a man’s shadow […]