By Sepideah Mohsenian-RahmanAhed Tamimi gets our Fearless Girl superlative in our first-ever #MGTop8. The #MGTop8 highlights fearless changemakers that are making an impact on elevating Muslim women’s voices. To view the rest of our #MGTop8, click here. Having recently celebrated her seventeenth birthday behind bars, Ahed Tamimi has lived under occupation her entire life. Restraints and restrictions have been placed on…
By Sepideah Mohsenian-RahmanNew Year’s Eve unites humanity for a singular night of festivity and glamour every year. While the Islamic New Year of Muharram is calculated on the lunar calendar and falls on a different night each year, the holiday is not celebrated in the same way at NYE, or as extravagantly as Eid-ul-Fitr or Eid-ul-Adh for…
By Sepideah Mohsenian-RahmanAn iconic face of Palestinian resistance since 2009 has been that of a little girl, Ahed Tamimi. Raised near Ramallah in the village of Nabi Saleh, Ahed was one of many who marched in weekly protests against the expansion minded Halimish-settlement. Since 2008 settlers have tried to annex private property belonging to the 600 residents of…
By Sepideah Mohsenian-RahmanThe Muslim Ban has been green-lighted, ready to go into effect after a decision was reached by the Supreme Court on Dec. 4. Dissenting in a 7-2 vote, Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Sonia Sotomayor were the only judges that believed the ban should have been blocked. The ruling on the third version of the…
By Sepideah Mohsenian-RahmanInternational outrage ensued after CNN exposed footage of modern-day slave auctions in Libya. Released last week, the exposé features footage of African refugees being sold for agricultural labor for $400 (it’s been reported that women are sold for slightly more, a little over $700, as they are more profitable within the forced commercial sex labor). According to…
By Sepideah Mohsenian-RahmanThe holidays are officially in full swing, and with the extra time off and reasons to gather in community, you know it’s about to go down. As much as we love family time, bringing everyone to the table inevitably brings out everyone’s -isms. Racist aunties, sexist grandpas, and cousins who do the same – and…
By Sepideah Mohsenian-RahmanOne year after the controversial 2016 presidential elections, the nation remains deeply polarized amongst ideological lines. The counterstrain of resistance rooted in activism, art and scholarship provides opportunities to challenge the violence and systematic oppression that communities of color, women, queer folks, immigrants, people with disabilities and students face as a direct result of the…
By Sepideah Mohsenian-RahmanAuthor’s Note: This is not intended to serve as a full timeline of the Muslim Ban, but rather an overview that highlights certain key moments of previous iterations of the ban, centralizing resistance to the most recent version. Pages: 1 2
By Sepideah Mohsenian-RahmanTimbuktu is a mythical city of magical proportions. Historically, it has served as a trading post, a city of rest on the Niger River for travelers making their way across Africa, and was at one point the wealthiest nation on earth – the El Dorado of the East, a haven of gold, wealth and intellect….
By Sepideah Mohsenian-RahmanBedouin women at Lakia, a women’s empowerment NGO in the Negev, have been using traditional Palestinian embroidery to raise funds and awareness within the community for 21 years. At the heels of New York Fashion Week, the NGO is making headlines, as their embroidery was featured on the catwalk of Israeli designer, Aviad Arik Herman,…
By Sepideah Mohsenian-RahmanAfter long anticipation, President Donald Trump has announced the repeal of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, placing the impetus to replace it by March 5, 2018. DACA was an executive order issued by former President Barack Obama in 2012, which has since supported 800,000 undocumented youth who were brought to the United States without…
By Sepideah Mohsenian-RahmanMuslim Girl Founder, Amani Al-Khatahtbeh, joined together with other leading writers and global thinkers on Australia’s most watched television show – ABC’s Q&A last night. Together with panelists Rutger Bregman, Laurie Penny, Shashi Tahroor and Michael Fullilove, she took the internet by storm in response to audience questions ranging from Western feminism and hijabs to utopia and…
By Sepideah Mohsenian-RahmanThirty percent of Harris County is flooded as a result of Hurricane Harvey with more than 50 inches of rain accumulating in some parts of Houston. Rainfall is expected through Friday, even while the storm has moved East toward Louisiana. There have been hundreds of thousands of Houston residents under evacuation orders, more than 30,000 people in temporary…
By Sepideah Mohsenian-RahmanIn response to the violence and death caused by the intentional race riots caused by white nationalists, aka White supremacists, aka the KKK, aka neo-nazis, during the “Unite the Right” march in Charlottesville, Va., you might be reflecting upon overwhelming feelings of grief, fear, anger, confusion, or emotional paralysis. These are all incredibly valid and human…
By Sepideah Mohsenian-RahmanCheck out Deedra Abboud, a Muslim, pro-gun Democrat running for Senate in Arizona. Deedra is a hijab-clad attorney, who formerly launched and directed the Arizona chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, and is running for public office for the first time. She is a fierce advocate for religious freedom, and the separation of church…
