Roxy van der Post for Myosotis Film & Photography
Headscarves and Hymens by Mona El Tahawy
“The most subversive thing a woman can do is talk about her life as if it really matters.” This was the line in Headscarves and Hymens that gave me the affirmation I needed to use my passion for writing to talk about the subjects that mattered most to me and not to feel a sense of “shame” for writing openly about life experiences. This was the first time I read a book which spoke so closely to my own thoughts as a Muslim Arab feminist, and I was nodding along every page of the way. Headscarves and Hymens is feminist journalist Mona El Tahawy’s first non-fiction book, and an in-depth look at the multi-faceted injustices women face across the Middle East.
It’s Not About the Burqa by Mariam Khan
It’s Not About the Burqa is an anthology of essays written by a long list of female British Muslim writers including BBC journalist Saima Mir, Jeremy Vine on 5 co-presenter Salma-El Wardany and award-winning author Sufiya Ahmed. They write unabashedly about their own experiences and on a range of topics people think Muslim women aren’t interested in – sexuality, feminism, politics, the law and queerness to name a few. This is a life-changing read because it proves that Muslim women are not a monolithic and there is no “one type” of Muslim woman. It also proves that we are extremely successful and have made incredible contributions in British society. Everyone needs to read this book.
Two Women in One by Nawaal El Saadawi
As well as being a famous Egyptian feminist, Nawaal El Saadawi writes novels and her husband has translated most of them into English. She writes about everyday Egyptian women, including working class women and women in rural areas. My favourite novel of hers is Two Women in One, probably because I can resonate with the protagonist Bahiah. Bahiah is a medical student in Cairo who is trying her hardest to reconcile the two women she is: the quiet, studious, obedient Bahiah at home, and the shameless, strong Bahiah who wears trousers, stands with one leg up on her stool in the lab and experiences intimacy outside of wedlock. The book is set in the early ‘80s, yet little has changed for women in Egypt today.
Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
I read Little Women for the first time when Mum bought it for me as a gift when I was 11 years old, and until this day the part where Beth dies makes me blubber like a baby. Reading it again as an adult I can see that Alcott was a feminist – it wasn’t something that I digested as a young girl. If I was to do a postgraduate degree in feminist literature I would probably choose Little Women for my thesis, as there are just so many references to gender injustice. Marmi is a feminist and so is Jo March. I had thought Jo March was based on Alcott but I recently read Alcott had based Jo’s youngest sister Amy on herself.
The Mill on the Floss by George Elliot
The Mill on the Floss was the 19th century novel I studied for my English Literature A-Level. It was a complete eye-opener, particularly as a teenager living in the Arab Gulf. I remember underlining so many passages in the book and telling my teacher that Victorian society was just like Qatari society; it was mad that the customs were so similar despite the 150-year gap! I could also see myself in the protagonist Maggie – the internal struggle between wanting to be pious and modest, but also be passionate and love and be loved. As an adult I now know I can be both – I don’t have to choose one or the other.
About the Author
Yousra S Imran is an English-Egyptian hybrid who works and lives in West Yorkshire. She has been writing from the moment she learned how to hold a pen and works full time in marketing and events in the education sector.Yousra grew up between the UK and the Middle East and has a BA Hons in International Relations. She is passionate about women’s rights and gender justice. Yousra lives with her husband in Bradford, Yorkshire.
Tag Archives: Muslim
Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt To Quit Acting: “We Had a Good Run”
Angelina Jolie has revealed that she “doesn’t love” acting as much as she used to.
Jolie was in tears when she was honoured for her controversial war movie, The Land Of Blood And Honey, at the Sarajevo Film Festival. She was praised for her directing debut, which is about a Muslim woman and a Serbian man during the Bosnian war in the 1990s. However, Jolie also said that she and Brad plan to quit acting soon.
“As Brad and I get older, we’re going to do fewer films,” she said. “I’ve been working for a long time, he’s been working for a long time. We’ve had a nice run and don’t want to be doing this our whole lives.”
Jolie added: “I’ve never not been grateful to be an actor. But I think when I was younger, I needed [acting] more. I was trying to question things in life, so you find these characters that help you find things and grow. I’m older and I know who I am, and I’m less interested in the character helping me answer something than in being able to answer it for myself, as a woman, as an adult, with my family.”
Jolie was Forbes highest paid actress in 2009 and 2011, and she and boyfriend Brad Pitt are parents to six children, Maddox, 9, Pax, 7, Zahara, 6, Shiloh, 5 and twins Vivienne and Knox, 3.
She said: “Home is wherever we are. I’m very bad at staying in one place. I’m also bad at sitting still. There’s so much to explore in the world, so I love travel. If you can travel I think it’s the best way to raise kids.”
Hillary Clinton Launches "Muslim Civilization" Science Exhibition
Opening May 27th at the California Science Center with a Special Message
Prof. Salim Al-Hassani, Hillary Clinton, launched an award-winning exhibition about scientific achievements from the Golden Age of Muslim Civilization, with a special video message at the California Science Center in Los Angeles. The 1001 Inventions exhibition, which has attracted more than 1 million visitors over the past year during an international tour, opened for a VIP launch day on May 25th attended by LA County Sheriff Lee Baca and Ambassadors from LA-based foreign consulates.
In her pre-recorded message, Secretary Clinton praised the work of the 1001 Inventions initiative for “celebrating a millennium of science and innovation in the Muslim world,” and described the launch of the exhibition as “an exciting day.”
Mrs. Clinton remarked that “the Muslim world has a proud history of innovators” and highlighted the achievements of pioneers like Fatima Al-Fihri, who founded the world’s first modern university, and master engineer Al-Jazari, who created the crank mechanisms that drive every plane, train and automobile on the planet.
Prof. Salim Al-Hassani, Chairman of 1001 Inventions, commented, “We’re honored that Secretary Clinton agreed to launch our exhibition here at one of the most prestigious science museums in the world. California Science Center has an international reputation for excellence in providing engaging and entertaining science experiences for young and old alike.
“The goal of 1001 Inventions is to highlight the astounding contribution that Muslim civilization has made in the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics and how those advances still affect our lives today. More than a million people have already visited the 1001 Inventions exhibition during the first year of its global tour and that is the greatest endorsement we could ever hope for.”
The 1001 Inventions exhibition is currently on a five-year global tour, sponsored by ALJ Community Initiatives. Following blockbuster runs in London, Istanbul and New York, it will open to the public at the California Science Center, in Los Angeles, on May 27, 2011 for a seven-month run. The exhibition explores the scientific contributions made by men and women during the Golden Age of Muslim Civilization. Through interactive displays, guests will explore basic science principles that are often taken for granted, in such fields as optics, time-keeping, hydraulics, navigation, architecture and mathematics.
1001 Inventions highlights the contributions of scholars from a diverse region stretching from Spain through China during the 7th to 17th centuries. Visitors will discover how scholars from this region, of various faiths and cultures, preserved, nurtured, and advanced the world’s knowledge in science and technology.
The 1001 Inventions exhibition was recently crowned “Best Touring Exhibition” of the year at the annual Museums and Heritage Excellence Awards in London – considered by many to be the “Oscars” of the Museum world – fighting off stiff competition from some of the world’s biggest names in exhibitions.
Full Text of Secretary Clinton’s Speech
I’m delighted to send greetings to each of you at this year’s 1001 Inventions, celebrating a millennium of science and innovation in the Muslim world. This exhibition honors the remarkable accomplishments of Muslims throughout history. From a woman who founded a University in the ninth century, to a thirteenth century inventor and mechanical engineer, to a surgeon whose writings influenced European medicine for hundreds of years, and so many more.
And of course, we’re looking at the impact of technology in the Muslim world right now as young people throughout the Middle East and North Africa find new ways to use social networking to get organized and to express their aspirations. Connection technologies offer an unprecedented opportunity. A platform through which everyone, from farmers to students to entrepreneurs, can exchange ideas and hatch plans for the world’s next great invention.
But technology does not decide the future. People do. So as this exhibition shows, the Muslim world has a proud history of innovators. Now is the time to tap in to that legacy to harness the power of science and technology, and to create new pathways to prosperity. This is an exciting day and thank you for letting me share it with you.