By NidaEver since I was a young girl, flipping through the pages of my Islamic Studies textbook in Sunday school, I’ve been exposed to the history of Islam. Amongst the many paragraphs and historical text I came across, I found a list of martyrs who had sacrificed their lives for the sake of Islam. I must…
By NidaStarting a fashion line for Muslim women has always been a dream of mine; as a young Muslim girl, I’d have trouble finding the perfect hijab or the ideal shirt in terms of sleeves, length, color, or style. All the Muslim-owned stores were the same — solid colors, jilbaabs, maybe even a few shalwar kameezes….
By Nida“Oh my God, you’re Pakistani? No way!” “But you’re so white!” An awkward silence would follow every time someone would define my skin tone in relation to my heritage. In the past, my adolescent self would sit there, unsure of how to respond to such an observation. Did I nod? Did I deny it? Still,…
By NidaIt is true that there is a line between oppression and free-will. It is also true that that line is not a fine one. These thoughts swarmed my mind when I took a Women, Culture, and Society class two semesters ago. I found that the course, while easy, brought insight to a lot of issues….
By NidaI’m sorry, but why does this even matter? All my life, I have always heard this constant battle being spoken among religious gatherings, classrooms, and social hangouts. The distinction between hijabis (those who wear the headscarf) and non-hijabis (those who do not) was always brought up and viewed as a topic of discussion. Why though,…
