REAL WORDS AND FEELINGS FROM MUSLIM WOMEN

AROUND THE WORLD

Britney Niese

CANADA: DEBRA SCHUBERT

“I have been a Muslim for ten years and

for ten years I have apologized for the

way Muslims behave. I have covered it up

and bottled it in and I am tired.”

Schubert, D. (n.d.). A Blossom Out of Muddy Waters. Retrieved from International Museum of Women Muslima: http://muslima.imow.org/stories/blossom-out-muddy-waters#sthash.A5wSLZHe.dpuf

SAUDI ARABIA: SAFFAA

“Hierarchies of power in Saudi Arabia are

fundamentally based on sexual difference

and the female-male binary. The country’s

guardianship laws explicitly discriminate

against women on the basis of their sex.” Saffaa. (n.d.). I Am My Own Guardian. Retrieved from International

Museum of Women Muslima: http://muslima.imow.org/stories/i-am-my-own-guardian#sthash.RQZuQNfV.dpuf

UNITED STATES: AISHA TASVEER

“There's one thing I learnt through it all:

don't let anyone stop you if it's worth it.”

Tasveer, A. (n.d.). I Found the Path to Liberation. Retrieved from International Museum of Women Muslima: http://muslima.imow.org/stories/i-found-path-liberation#sthash.D9sCjVs4.dpuf

DENMARK: NADIA HELMY AHMED

“I do no longer desire to be a victim of ‘the

game of identity and nationality, the game of

residence permit and passport’”

“The crucial issue for us has been to achieve a

status in which it is legitimate and acceptable to

be both Muslim Women and Danish at the same

time.”

Ahmed, N. H. (n.d.). Redefine Limits and Courage to Strive for More. Retrieved from International Museum for Women Muslima: http://muslima.imow.org/stories/redefine-limits-and-courage-strive-more#sthash.bN997iwn.dpuf

INDIA: MARIAM KARIM-AHLAWAT

“I want the world to appreciate the image

of strong, thinking Muslim women, not

reinforce stereotypes of Muslim women as

victims.”

Ahlawat, M. K. (n.d.). Make Space in Your Thoughtspace. Retrieved from International Museum for Women Muslima: http://muslima.imow.org/stories/make-space-your-thoughtspace

PHILIPPINES: ALAMINAH ABUSSALAM

“It is something that protects me from the evil eyes of

people. So like a veil, I personally show people that

as a Muslim woman, I need not to submit myself to

the society's standard of beauty because I have my

own, I need not to forsake my religion just to do

things which I actually do not have to do (just to

please people).”Abussalam, A. (n.d.). A Life, Not Just a Coif. Retrieved from

International Musuem of Women Muslima: http://muslima.imow.org/stories/life-not-just-coif#sthash.E1IROJtr.dpuf

TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THESE

WOMEN’S STORIES GO TO

MUSLIMA.IMOW.ORG