By Sarah MainuddinWomen who face veil — also known as niqabis — are often thrown to the wolves by the Muslim majority to break out of stereotypes imposed on the veil by the Western world through Orientalism and Islamophobia. In other words, women who wear veils are affected by respectability politics. Respectability politics is a form of…
By imaanasimFor all our non-UK readers, the current state of the United Kingdom’s political climate is an absolute mess — and probably looks very confusing — with words like “Brexit” and “Boris” regularly trending. So allow me to (somewhat) explain. We currently have a leadership election for the next prime minister and it has been narrowed…
By Jessica Daqamsseh“How much could I give you to rip that off her head?” Just five men hanging out on the weekend. Taking bets on assaulting a woman with a young child living in the apartment above them. Such a casual proposition sent chills down my spine. Did it make you blink? The neighborhood continued on, never…
By Bisma ParvezDear Bar, The first thing I’d like you to know is that before today, I hadn’t heard of you. I didn’t know you were a model, a business woman, or that you had millions of followers on Instagram. I didn’t know a thing about you. And I don’t mean that to be hurtful, or petty,…
By Haniya ShareefRecently, a video was released in which an Iranian woman was violently attacked by female officers for failing to fully cover her head. Known as the “morality police,” the officers were shown pushing the woman to the ground and beating her as screams pierced the air. Additionally, the woman and the officers seemed to exchange harsh…
By Uldduz Sohrabi Larki[Feature photo courtesy of Mads Claus Rasmussen/AFP/Getty Images] On Thursday, May 31st, Denmark voted to ban both the burqa and niqab, with a new law set to be implemented at the beginning August. The bill, presented to the Danish parliament by right-wing politicians and party members, received a majority vote of 75 votes in favor…
By NIQABAEWhat happens when a law is passed which dictates what a woman can and cannot wear in public and infringes a charter-given right? We follow the motto “Sisters before misters.” Bill 62 isolates and immobilizes Canadian Muslim women who choose to observe the Niqab. The bill will embolden racists, and so-called “patriots,” to use this…
By ShannonWomen who don the veil have always been an interesting subject to the general unveiled public. The unveiled want to know why these women cover and what kind of lives they lead. But this may be the first time someone actually thought to ask the question — how do they see? Hassan Ammar, a photographer…
By Zeena MubarakCanadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper recently decided that he is the spokesman for the rights and feelings of Muslim women. He proclaimed that the niqab, the face covering that some Muslim women choose to wear, is anti-Canadian, part of a fundamentally oppressive culture, and actually offensive to Canadians. “Why would Canadians, contrary to our own…
By emmaA woman protests in Paris, with a sign that says, “The veil covering your eyes is much more dangerous than the veil covering my hair.” Insults and physical aggression; a climate of fear ignored by, if not created with the full complicity of, law enforcement; Islamophobia: that is the reality in many non-Muslim countries. While…
