Women's Rights in the Middle East Today: Law, Religion and Culture – International Conference in Cyprus

I had the honor of participating in this wonderful gathering of scholars, activists and artists working on gender and women’s rights issues in Southwestern Asia and North Africa. Once again, Dar al Kalima University College of Arts and Culture and CAFCAW have succeeded in challenging the intellect and establishing a dialogue between diverse identities and currents. The conference was […]

Nazret Mogtama3 نظرة مجتمع

I’m a 20 year old Muslim Egyptian girl who was born and raised in Dubai. However, I visit my home country every year (…). In my family, I’m the only girl who is not wearing a Hijab and I get judged for that – ‘a girl who doesn’t fulfill her religious duties’. It used to […]

Islam through the Lens of Young Syrian Women: between Unity and Diversity

On February 28th, 12pm, students in Dr. Pamela Chrabieh’s “Religions of the World” course at the American University in Dubai had the opportunity to watch the documentary “Turoq” and meet its directors, Sarah Hassan and Leen Al Faysal. Sarah and Leen are former students of Dr. Chrabieh. Sarah is journalist and producer with CNN International […]

My Islam is that of Amina Wadud

My latest encounter with a fellow Lebanese so-called feminist led to her following statement: “There are no Muslim Feminists. It is a pure contradiction. Islam oppresses women. As long as Muslim women are defending their religion, they cannot claim being feminists”. Every discussion about “Islam” and “women” must begin with a definition of Islam. Simply […]

God the Female

She, and by her, God reveals the feminine self. God, who combines both male and female characters, is only referred to as a “he”. This, not only limits the divine, but it also cancels the possibility of the feminine being part of God. This notion of God the female, that is revealed throughout the Bible, […]

“Women’s Rights”: Cute Han?

Lebanon, July 4th 2013, Rim Zakaria and Zaynab Awada fled their abusive husbands to take part in a press conference organized by the NGO KAFA-enough violence and exploitation… China, 2011, Wu Hei (which isn’t her real name), a successful woman who earns almost one million rmb (around 150 000$) walks out of an abusive marriage […]