Articles — Women in Islam

Mothers and Muezzins

How Islam and matriarchy harmonise in West Sumatra

EqualitySiha AfricaJanuary 7, 2019Indonesia, matriarchy, patriarchy, culture, tradition, divorce

Polygamy: when religion and traditions mingle

Can a man have more than one wife? There are no grounds for polygamy, either in social justice or religion, argues Hala Alkarib.

Public & PrivateSiha AfricaJanuary 4, 2019polygamy, polygyny, marriage, wife, husband, horn of africa, sudan, shari'a, fiqh, monogamy

Criminalizing Sexuality: Laws as Violence Against Women in Muslim Contexts

Ziba Mir-Hosseini challenges the criminalization of sexual activity in contemporary Islamic law.

Public & PrivateSiha AfricaDecember 10, 2018ziba mir-hosseini, law, shari'a, zina, legal tradition

Review: 'The Forgotten Queens of Islam' by Fatima Mernissi

How did women take power in states where politics was an exclusively male pursuit? Fatima Mernissi uncovers the forgotten histories of Muslim queens.

PerspectivesSiha AfricaDecember 2, 2018book review, fatima mernissi, leadership, female rulers, history, queens of islam, khilafa

Women and the Veil: the art of Laila Shawa

Laila Shawa transforms injustice into visceral works of art.

PeopleSiha AfricaNovember 7, 2018laila shawa, art, palestine, veil, hijab, niqab, issue2

Mother, May I?

A poem by S. Nadia Hussain.

Public & PrivateSiha AfricaNovember 7, 2018poetry, culture, motherhood, children, growing up

The Emergence of Islamic Feminism

Addressing women’s rights has never just been women’s business, nor is it a recent phenomenon.

EqualitySiha AfricaNovember 7, 2018feminism, islamic feminism, fatima mernissi, amina wadud, issue1

Homeboys: Deciding to be a Stay-At-Home Dad

“There’s nothing more ‘manly’ I can do than raising my son”.

Public & PrivateSiha AfricaNovember 7, 2018fathers, family, children, dad, masculinity, child-rearing, home, issue1

"My Isl@m": A Frank Debate About Identity and Islam

A young Sudanese author explores his fraught relationship with religion

Rehmah Kasule: The Journey of a Woman Entrepreneur from Uganda

“When you have hope, things can change”.

PeopleSiha AfricaNovember 6, 2018uganda, business, entrepreneur, experience, issue1

If Music Be The Food Of Love: Singing, Spirituality and Islam

From Timbuktu to Zanzibar, music can both unite and divide Muslim communities.

PerspectivesSiha AfricaNovember 6, 2018zanzibar, music, sudan, mali, timbuktu, fundamentalism, cheikh lo, senegal, singing, issue2

We Are All Malala

Why Malala’s shooting damages the credibility of “moderate” Muslims

Between Two WorldsSiha AfricaNovember 6, 2018pakistan, malala, education, moderates, fundamentalism

What's Behind the Veil? The Art of Boushra Almutawakel

The Yemeni photographer whose work provokes strong feelings and debate.

PerspectivesSiha AfricaNovember 6, 2018yemen, veil, hijab, niqab, photography, artist, art, culture, issue1

What Manliness is to Me

Abdifatah Hassan Ali, from Somalia, talks about what “being a man” means to him.

PerspectivesSiha AfricaOctober 30, 2018masculinity, men, somalia, issue2

A Single Mother

A story of oppression and exclusion: the life of a single mother in Sudan.

EqualitySiha AfricaOctober 30, 2018motherhood, single mother, experience, life story, sudan, issue2

Muslim Like My Grandmother

My grandmother is my role model, both as a human being and a Muslim.

Public & PrivateSiha AfricaOctober 30, 2018sudan, family, memories, 1970s, grandmother

Somalia's Songbird: Saado Ali Warsame

She will be remembered as the voice for the voiceless - speaking out for them even with the odds against her.

PeopleSiha AfricaOctober 30, 2018somalia, culture, music, women in politics, assassination, al-shabaab, saado ali warsame, issue2

A Pioneer of Modernity: Aisha al-Fallatiya

“Daughter of the Nile, what are you after?” “Can you give me a modern life in a Sudanese town? That’s what I’m after!”

PeopleSiha AfricaOctober 30, 2018aisha al-fallatiya, music, singer, modernisation, sudan, issue2