Posts under ‘Gender’

The question of marriage outside of one’s faith is not specific to any one religion. Each religion, I am sure, encourages adherents to marry within the faith. Yet while this is true across faiths, and even cultures, Islam is often singled out in a negative light. It seems that there are many who are willing to [...]

I recently listened to a show from “To the Best of Our Knowledge,” a sister program to Inside Islam’s Here on Earth on Wisconsin Public Radio. The show titled “Reclaiming Islam” aired on June 12th, 2009, and featured a number of interesting guests: Reza Aslan, Tissa Hami, Christopher Caldwell, Youssou N’Dour & Chai Vasarhelyi, and [...]

Update – This program is now available for streaming and free download from the Inside Islam archive.
What do people know about Ayesha, the youngest wife of the Prophet Muhammad? Her age is the focus of any discussion and seems responsible for the controversy around her. Many, however, do not know the extent of her influence [...]

The hijab—the veil—is one of the most visual signs of Islam. Many see the scarf and associate it with, well, oppression. Some within the Muslim communities perceive it as a way to determine a Muslim women’s adherence to faith.

Altmuslimah is a branch of altmuslim, a blog we’ve written about before on Inside Islam that has critical, independent thought on Islam today. Altmuslimah, on the other hand, focuses on the gender divide within Islam and opens up discussion about important issues like the women’s movement for equality in Islam recently launched as The Musawah Movement. Here in this post on Inside Islam, we outlined the emerging debates and global significance of such a movement and invite readers to leave their own thoughts as well.

The Washington Post’s “On Faith” blog recently posted video of a two-part conversation with Asra Nomani, journalist, Muslim activist, and feminist. She is also part of the upcoming documentary The Mosque In Morgantown about a Muslim community in West Virginia.
“On Faith” hosts the blog of another prominent Muslim-American voice, the founder of the Interfaith Youth [...]

Soon after religious authorities outlawed yoga earlier this year, Muslim women asked, “what next?” Irritated and outraged by their mistreatment and angered by the horrors of domestic violence, hundreds of Muslim women from around the world gathered last February in Malaysia. This global meeting marked the official launch of the Musawah movement for equal rights [...]

The hijab, one of the most prominent symbols of Islam, is apparently undergoing a modernization. According to a post by Global Voices blogger Jillian C. York, the trend is highly visible online. Blogs dedicated to hijabi fashion and personal experiences of wearing one can be found around the Internet.

Today on Here on Earth: Radio Without Borders the crew that also produces the Inside Islam radio series will air a related program about the German and Iranian women’s soccer teams at 3 pm Central. The show will focus on the documentary film Football Under Cover. For information on how to listen and to find [...]

Sexual revolution may indeed be a developing political movement. It’s also a reminder that Islamic reform could take diverse interpretations.

A listener of our radio series with Here on Earth: Radio Without Borders critisizes the Women and Sharia program for whitewashing the real issues.

Halal-TV, a Swedish talk show hosted by three Muslim women, was the center of a great deal of controversy and confusion recently, resulting from the decision by two of the hosts not to shake hands with a male guest.

Blogger Jehanzeb Dar’s critique of the depiction of Muslim women in comic books provides an insightful continuation to broader discussions of depictions of these women in other venues, such as the showcase of portraits of Muslim women I wrote about in November here on Inside Islam. His two-part essay entitled “Female, Muslim, and Mutant” has been featured on prominent Muslim and non-Muslim blogs alike. You can find his commentary on Racialicious and Muslimah Media Watch. The series also received the Best Post or Series Award in The 2007 Brass Crescent Awards last month.

A quote from The New York Times article “In Booming Gulf, Some Arab Women Find Freedom in the Skies.”

In my conversation yesterday with Norhayati Kaprawi, the program manager of Sisters in Islam, a Malaysian women’s rights advocacy group, I got a feeling of déjà vu. So much of what she told me about the group’s efforts to educate and empower women about their rights reminded me of what American women went through in the sixties when we begat a social revolution just by talking with one another around our kitchen tables.

The Islamic feminist movement has great significance in cross-cultural discussions around issues like restoring women’s rights and gender equality. Since it rejects the division between secular and religious, East and West, it may also contribute a model for similar groups to develop shared common values and create a global community through dialogue. Whether or not this happens, Islamic feminists* have actually been able to bridge intercultural differences that religious leaders like Pope Benedict XVI struggled to even articulate in the first place.

About a month ago the Here on Earth production team began working on Women and Shari’a, the topic of our next show in the series and something none of us knew much about. It’s been a fascinating process.

The blog Hatshepsut is about women, politics, and academia in Egypt. What attracted my attention most is the series “Overheard in Cairo.” Like Overheard in New York City it features short clips of dialogue submitted by attentive listeners eavesdropping for the sake of everyone’s enjoyment.

The debate about Islamic dress such as hijab and head scarfs has fascinated political and fashion publications alike. Popular culture and political magazine Slate published a piece called “Hijab Chic” by Asra Nomani.* Nomani writes about American interpretations of hijab fashion (as does videoblogger Baba Ali and Tariq Ramadan). Her experience at a retail store [...]

Portraits of women and the veil are posted here as a continuation of a discussion on women and the veil on Inside Islam.