On Muslim Women Speak.

I’m so excited that I’ve been getting to work with such talented amazing people on the journey of working on this publication. I’m also surprised that when I did a call out for this it was mainly Muslim men and non Muslim women writing to me to participate. It got me thinking how unsafe I’ve felt in the past to talk about being Muslim, as a woman, and how more than anything I want to create a place where Muslim women/femme identifying people can feel safe opening up about their experiences.

I do believe that real change lies in love and acceptance, and this is why talking about the complexities of the hijab (whether you veil or don’t) or participating in “non-Muslim” activities such as premarital sex affects is vital to conversations about how to move forward in a post 9/11 world. I’m interested in those stories, because I think we need to do better as a community to support and protect our family in the faith.

Last week the brilliant hijab roundtable explored talking about the struggles of veiling in the modern world in The Veil Between Me and The World, featuring brilliant writers/thinkers Tasbeeh Herwees, Shireen Ahmed, Kaw Thar and Mahdia Lynn.

This last week we had Naila Kelani explore art and the symbolism of the “hijab” as a trope used by non-hijab’d artists in Art and the Hijab Politick. Following that I talked to my friend and artist Ayqa Khan about sex and exploring my sexuality in The Real Lives of Muslim Women. And just today, a young woman with the nom de plume Hannan wrote about her desire to have sex, as a Muslim and a hijabi, in Young, Muslim and Wanting Sex.

Please check out all these pieces. Share them, read them and consider the voices that echo through them. Even better: if you’re wanting to write a piece, do reach out!

Have a lovely weekend!