By Rabea AliThis past week, the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) decided to uphold Donald Trump’s Travel Ban, which is better known as the Muslim Ban 3.0. With this 5-4 decision in favor, they have essentially given more power to the Trump Administration to mistreat and take away the rights of immigrants. However, this is…
By Rabea AliEid-Al-Fitr is the religious holiday which marks the end of the holy month of Ramadan. It’s typically spent with extended family in most cultures. In my family, we have minimal family in the United States, and even less as the years have gone by, so the festivities have always been a bit low-key compared to…
By Rabea AliNew York City is a place of many wonders: you will never run out of places to see, people to meet, or things to do. Sometimes, NYC delivers on its promise of excitement, and sometimes, like any city in the world, it doesn’t. However, when it comes to NYC’s wide variety of tasty places to…
By Rabea AliIt’s overwhelmingly obvious that patriarchy is very much alive. Our society is stuck in a misogynistic rut where he who shall not be namedhas been sworn into office despite his sexist hateful beliefs. But alas, all is not lost. Here are four ways we pledge to stand up and make changes for the future: 1)…
By Rabea AliAfter the election of Donald Trump, a wave of pink feminist “pussy hats” hit the markets in protest. These anti-trump “pussy hats” spearheaded by The Pussyhat Project were meant to be a part of the greater Women’s March and the feminist movement, born in response to Trump’s remarks about “grabbing women by the pussy.” The hats…
By Rabea AliFernanda was just 10 years old when she crossed the U.S.-Mexican border by foot with her then six-year-old sister, who had a broken arm at the time, and her mother, chasing the American Dream. They left their hometown of Cholula, Puebla on Nov. 17, and were some of the lucky few who arrived in Queens…
By Rabea AliIt’s been a year since your inauguration and I’m afraid we haven’t got much to show for it except the anxiety of nearing a nuclear war with North Korea, the destruction of immigrant communities and the government shutdown. That’s just a handful of the countless errors made by the administration this year. Well Mr. President, I’ve…
By Rabea AliThis past weekend, on Dec. 14, seven courageous Dreamers and one ally were arrested fighting for a clean Dream Act. Refusing to give their names to the police, they remained in jail and risked deportation, nonetheless demanding action from Congress. The hashtag #nodreamnodeal trended all weekend long as news broke of the seven Dreamers who were arrested following…
By Rabea AliTake the Gaza Strip, allow it to be your canvas, Tilt the canvas a little away, from the sun, Strip naked, the little stick figures, So you can give them something to mourn and cry for. Splash a little bit of determination on them, Get a little cold-blood in the process, Wear a thin layer…
By Rabea AliDuring a time when the majority of the government is made of White male faces and Trump’s administration makes it increasingly difficult for non-White, non-Christians to succeed in the United States, here are three Muslim women of color that serve as a breath of fresh air. These Muslim women are direct challenges to the establishment…
By Rabea AliIt comes as no surprise that for many of us Brown girls growing up, the subject of periods was hushed. Much of what we learned was not from our parents but from outside sources and self-searching. Sometimes, the information we came across was faulty. Here are just some of the myths that we’ve heard and debunked…
By Rabea AliBeing Muslim on a Catholic college campus certainly has its ups and downs. First off, there’s the inevitable challenge of being different from the majority. While there is a significant population of Muslims on my campus, we are a minority and are often looked at with a lesser value in the eyes of students….
By Rabea AliSome things will never change in the world of the hijabi. That includes the never ending weird questions we’re asked. Here are 5 of the weirdest questions I’ve been asked as a hijabi: So uh … are you allowed to wear a hoodie on top of that? Where do I even begin, of course I can….
By Rabea AliA recent report shows there were 85 deadly attacks spanning between 2001 and 2016. Contrary to the popular belief that they were predominantly carried out by “Islamic extremists,” most were carried out by far-right extremists. The reasons behind the lack of media coverage are many, but the core reason appears to be the tendency to label…
By Rabea AliGrowing up in a Pakistani household, Halloween was always this confusing “America-only” holiday where we would never answer our front door. But as a child, I always envied the kids who got to dress up and get free candy while my Muslim parents said it didn’t align with Islamic beliefs. It was a holiday for Christians and, so,…
