One of the most electrifying outcomes of the recent protests in the Middle East & North Africa has been the shattering of myths about Arabs & Muslims that have for too long been fed to the West: the women are voiceless, passive creatures apathetic to their country’s political processes, and democracy is something we are […]
Designers & Dictators: Vogue Highlights Fashion Over Freedom Read More »
Anyone remember what one of the most striking images to surface from Iran’s uprising last summer over the fallout from the country’s so-called elections were? Iranian women protesting. The world was shocked to see Iranians, 70% of whom are under that age of 25 yrs old, pour onto the streets demanding their votes be counted.
The Fight for Democracy: How Protests in Egypt & Iran Shatter Myths About Muslim Women Read More »
Two years ago, when Lebanese pop star Suzanne Tamim was found dead with her throat slit open in her apartment in Dubai, few could have imagined that her ex-boyfriend, wealthy married Egyptian tycoon, Hisham Talaat Moustafa would not only be the prime suspect, but pretty much get away with murder. Literally. So how does the
Getting Over Eve: Lebanese Murder Exposes Society’s Double-Standards Read More »
Seems like Emiratis have been working so hard over the past decade to make sure one main message gets across to the International Community: we are modern, we have money, come build in our desert. Not enough water for you? We will import it in. Too hot for your liking? We will fly in snow
The Arab Emirates: Where It’s Okay To Beat Your Wife and Kids Read More »
I am so exhausted of the whole burqa ban debate that I am about to put one on myself! But in all seriousness, I am so tired of this issue to the point that it has become personally offensive for me to even respond to it. I have written and spoken extensively on it in
The Ban: Hiding Our Deepest Fears Behind the Burqa Read More »
For me, the issue of the burqa ban in Europe was a closed one when the initiative finally failed last month in France. But then it was taken up in Belgium where it is more than likely to pass. I debated the issue of it being banned in Belgium live on BBC Radio last week.
No End In Sight? The Burqa Debate Drags On & On Read More »
It is always a good recipe for the media to sexualize the mystique which surrounds the ever elusive Muslim woman: Is she a burqa-clad victim of her own religion, or a strong woman of choices who is forever fighting off labels and stereotypes? Or is she a supportive partner to her terrorist male counterpart, plotting
The Real Questions We Should Be Asking “Lady Al-Qaeda” Read More »
In a post 9-11 world, perhaps nothing has come to represent the subjugation of Muslim women the way the burqa has. Despite the fact that it comes in various styles, each providing its own degree of covering such as the niqab or the chador, which many Muslim women choose to wear, it is the full
Making The Burqa Sexy: A New Frontier In Advertising? Read More »