On a daily basis, countless stereotypes about Muslim women are circulated on and offline. Richard Dawkins, the famous evolutionary biologist and prominent atheist, recently tweeted: “Islam needs a feminist revolution. It will be hard. What can we do to help?” Angered by Dawkins’ comments, many Muslim women responded.
However, Dawkins’ comment is, perhaps, proof of a larger problem: How much does the world really know about the diversity in the lives and views of Muslim women? What Dawkins said is not far from the way Muslim women are repeatedly portrayed by the mass media. Many argue that the focus is too often is on stories of Muslim women being victimised instead of being empowered, or how they look instead of how they think.
Activists say that painting the state of Muslim women with a broad brush, as Dawkins did, misses the details and prevents the emergence of the diversity among Muslim women who range in opinions, appearance, professions, cultures, languages, and much more.
So in this episode, we speak to a number of Muslim women from different parts of the world, who, through the work they do, are breaking stereotypes and challenging the status quo. Join our conversation at 19:30 GMT.
In this episode of The Stream, we speak to:
Alaa Murabit @almmura
Founder, The Voice of Libyan Women
vlwlibya.org
Sakdiyah Ma’ruf @sakdiyahmaruf
Stand-up comic
Ibtihaj Muhammad @IbtihajMuhammad
USA Fencing, World Champion
louellashop.com
Edina Lekovic @EdLek
Director of Community Outreach, Women’s Mosque
womensmosque.com
Read on at Aljazeera here.
