By Hasnaa MokhtarWhen Bilqis Abdul-Qaadir plays basketball, she worries about nothing. “It takes me out of real life,” she said. The irony is that in real life basketball bans Bilqis from pursuing her worry-free living and dream. Why? Because she made history in 2010 as the National Collegiate Athletic Association’s first female Muslim basketball player who wears…
By Hasnaa MokhtarI know well the feeling of being helpless. I am a woman, and I grew up in Saudi Arabia. I was boxed in. A male relative — father, husband, brother or son — had to sign me off. When? It was a required procedure whenever I wanted to travel alone, renew my personal ID, or accept…
By Hasnaa MokhtarSelfless gestures often inspire me. Humanitarian campaigns and initiatives are needed and appreciated. But small, individual acts of kindness have powerful social change elements that go unnoticed. Noah, a Syrian refugee seeking political asylum in Dallas, Texas, is a great example of how an act of kindness could create profound and positive social change. Noah…
By Hasnaa MokhtarHer witty humor, humility, and incisive voice has brought this woman to the forefront of Twitter. Not only is Hend Amry a powerful social media presence — she has earned herself at rank 55 on the list of “Most Powerful Arab Women” in 2016. She was also nicknamed queen of Muslim Twitter, best satirical Arab…
By Hasnaa MokhtarEverything about Yusra Mardini is extraordinarily exceptional. The 18-year-old swimmer will be competing on the first Refugee Olympic Athletes team at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. Her incredible swimming skills earned her a place to compete in the 100m freestyle and 100m butterfly swimming games. After fleeing war-torn Syria to Berlin, Germany,…
By Hasnaa Mokhtar“This isn’t about me. This is about the women I left behind,” said Yasmeen Harris in an emotional appeal on November 9, 2013, calling attention to the struggle of Muslim female inmates she shared a cell with. Sharing her incarceration story at the symposium “California Jails and Muslim Inmates,” Harris talked about the lack of…
By Hasnaa MokhtarEvery time I read a “religious” edict about the “devilish horrors” of Muslim women, my brain freezes, and my blood boils, while my heart shatters with grief and despair. It happened again today when I read the latest (sexist) statements from Saudi Arabia’s Grand Mufti, as he was defending the fatwa (law) that bans women…
By Hasnaa MokhtarGo to images.google.com and type in the words “Muslim women.” What do you see? Our founder and Editor-in-Chief Amani Al-Khatahtbeh invited the audience at Clark University to try this simple exercise on their gadgets during her public talk on March 1 in celebration of International Women’s Day. The results were an endless list of images…
By Hasnaa Mokhtar“You look hot in that outfit. Care to join me in my apartment after work to discuss your promotion?” One in three women between the ages of 18-34 has heard a similar, unwelcome sexually harassing comment at work, according to a recent survey. In the tech industry alone, 65 percent of women reported unwanted sexual…
By Hasnaa MokhtarAccording to Think Progress, studies show that Islamophobia is giving Muslims mental disorders. The article says: “Researchers are just beginning to explore the kind of toll that Islamophobia can take on the mental and physical health of Muslim-Americans — and it’s unsurprisingly harsh…Perceived Islamophobia has a distinct effect on Muslim minorities’ health and identification.” So,…
By Hasnaa MokhtarAs the first female Saudi journalist to work in Arab News’ all-male newsroom in the late 1980s, Faiza Ambah knows how it feels when the state and cultural norms force a woman to wear the hijab, even if she does not believe in it. But as much as she is against coercing Muslim women into…
By Hasnaa MokhtarSince news broke of Iran severing all commercial ties with Saudi Arabia, after the execution of Shi’ite cleric Nimr Al-Nimr in Saudi Arabia and the attack on the Saudi embassy in Iran, major media outlets published inaccurate information about the Iranian “ban on pilgrimage.” I guess in the flurry of journalistic excitement on the issue,…
By Hasnaa MokhtarSometimes when I’m sitting down, holding my 6-month-old son, Malik, close to my chest — a bit of anxiety begins to creeps up on me. You know, it’s the typical, not-so-typical concerns of all new moms that keep us up late at night. What will his future be like? What lessons will life teach him?…
By Hasnaa Mokhtar“Ready … here we go!” “Nine … eight … seven …” It was really happening! “Six … five … four …” I’m really going… “Three …” “Two …” “One.” The space shuttle took off. Anousheh Ansari giggled like a schoolgirl at the sight of flying objects. Peeping through her tiny porthole, her laughter stopped as…
By Hasnaa MokhtarAmid challenging times for Muslims everywhere emerges the empowering story of Bilal, the Middle East’s first animated feature film about a boy named Bilal, who dreams of becoming a warrior, and his sister Ghufaira. Inspired by the life of Bilal Ibn Rabah, an African slave who became one of the most beloved companions to the…
