I was born in London into a Pakistani Muslim family. Like most kids from Muslim families I knew I was Muslim, although I didn’t know why. I did know I had to go to madrassas on the weekends or after school, and that I had to follow some rules that my...
The perpetrators of multiple ‘honour’ killings in Ontario, Canada are to appeal against their conviction in 2012 on the grounds that provision of expert testimony on ‘honour’ crime was “highly prejudicial”. In 2009, Mohammed Shafia (58) and his wife Tooba Mohammed Yahya (41), drowned their three daughters Zainab (19), Sahar (17)...
There is “no particular age” for a girl to marry – “normally the younger the better.” “In some societies, 12 or 13-year-old women, girls, they are more or less fully fledged women.” When it comes to inheritance, “We are very happy to give the woman half and the man double...
Having followed news about the onset of global hijab fashion trends and ‘modest’ clothing lines, I am conflicted about whether the normalisation of Islamic attire is a good step forward or whether in reality it dismisses the brutal experiences of some who wear hijab. When I used to wear it,...
The Times reported today that according to a group of gynaecologists writing in the BMJ’s Journal of Medical Ethics, ‘milder forms of female genital mutilation should be tolerated to stop “demonisation” of important cultural practices.’ One of the gynaecologists, Dr Allan Jacobs, of Stony Brook University, New York, says “it’s time...
The hijab is probably one of the most hotly discussed items of clothing around, second only to the Little Black Dress (which I’d better not start talking about in case the haram police comes for me). Seen as traditional attire for women in Islam, the hijab for many is a symbol...
Because I write regularly about forced marriage and honour abuse, I often receive messages of support and solidarity. Sometimes I hear from women and men who have faced similar issues, or who can identify with aspects of my story in some way. Below is one of those messages, received from a man who has...
I have been thinking a lot about suffering lately. I am suffering a great deal because I am trying to come to terms with life without my family. They simply can’t deal with the fact that I am no longer Muslim, and that my spiritual exploration has led me to...
Amal was 10 when she first told someone that her father was subjecting her to repeated sexual abuse. That someone was her mother, who told her “not to speak about this with anybody”. Mustafa was 12 when his Qu’ran teacher started to find reasons to be alone with him and...
This post was originally published by ‘Nice Mangos’ on her personal blog in February 2015, and we’re delighted to reproduce it here with her kind permission! So this weekend we were helping my aunt move, and gosh I love her to pieces… she is one of my few relatives who defends...
