Posts Tagged Muslim women

By Emily Villano • 10 years ago

Not Oprah’s Book Club: Do Muslim Women Need Saving?

Do Muslim women need saving? Lila Abu-Lughod’s question challenges what has become, in her words, the “new common sense”: a “moral mainstreaming of global women’s rights” that urges Westerners to intervene on behalf of faraway women held hostage by “backwards” religious beliefs. As feminists, we might see reason to celebrate a global, energized focus on gender. But Abu-Lughod argues persuasively that we have to approach these appeals with caution. Her analysis upsets not only wrong-headed ideas about the “Muslim women” we seek to save, but also fantasies of freedom and consent that form the basis of Western feminism.

Do Muslim women need saving? Lila Abu-Lughod’s question challenges what has become, in her words, the “new common sense”: a “moral mainstreaming of global women’s rights” that urges Westerners to intervene on behalf of faraway women ...
By Maya Dusenbery • 10 years ago

Quote of the Day: Malala calls out President Obama on drone strikes

Though she didn’t win the Nobel Peace prize, Malala Yousafzai did get a meeting with the Obamas last week, and she didn’t shy away from criticizing US drone policy. She recalled,

“I thanked President Obama for the United States’ work in supporting education in Pakistan and Afghanistan and for Syrian refugees. I also expressed my concerns that drone attacks are fueling terrorism. Innocent victims are killed in these acts, and they lead to resentment among the Pakistani people. If we refocus efforts on education it will make a big impact.”

As Omid Safi points out this post at Religion News Service, Malala, like so many Muslim reformers and other activists in ...

Though she didn’t win the Nobel Peace prize, Malala Yousafzai did get a meeting with the Obamas last week, and she didn’t shy away from criticizing US drone ...
By Maya Dusenbery • 11 years ago

Student journalist describes being sexually assaulted by mob in Egypt

*Trigger warning*

Another horrifying sexual assault against a woman journalist in Egypt is spotlighting the epidemic of harassment in the country–as well as the risks lady reporters regularly face across the globe. The attack against Natasha Smith, a British student journalist working on a documentary about women’s rights, during the post-election celebrations this past weekend closely echoes the attacks on Lara Logan and Mona Eltahawy last year.

She described the whole experience on her blog:

But in a split second, everything changed. Men had been groping me for a while, but suddenly, something shifted. I found myself being dragged from my male friend, groped all over, with increasing force and aggression. I screamed. I could see what was happening ...

*Trigger warning*

Another horrifying sexual assault against a woman journalist in Egypt is spotlighting the epidemic of harassment in the country–as well as the risks lady reporters regularly face across the globe. The attack against Natasha Smith, ...
By Maya Dusenbery • 12 years ago

FIFA takes first step towards lifting hijab ban for Muslim women soccer players

File this one as a win!

Muslim female soccer players are celebrating a decision by the International Football Association Board to allow them to test specially designed head coverings for four months.

Soccer’s international governing body, known as FIFA, has prohibited headscarves since 2007, citing safety concerns. The new headscarves will be fastened with Velcro rather than pins.

As you may remember, thanks to the ban on veiling, Iran’s women’s soccer team was effectively banned from participating in the next Olympics. That prompted Jordan’s Prince Ali Bin Al Hussein, who is a vice president of FIFA, to start pushing for change. A Dutch design successfully convinced FIFA that safety was not an issue.

I’m thrilled to see that there’s one ...

File this one as a win!

Muslim female soccer players are celebrating a decision by the International Football Association Board to allow them to test specially designed head coverings for four months.

Soccer’s international governing body, known ...

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