Muslim Chic

Wait, Muslim women have opinions about veiling? Who knew? [/sarcasm] The Female Factor – What the Head Scarf Means, When Everyone Wears One – NYTimes.com. To take off the veil, as some women have done, is to ask the candid question of what it means to be a Muslim woman today.

Are brothels and bikinis signs of progress for Arab women? – CSMonitor.com. Western media have too often measured emerging democracies by the yardstick of “sex, drugs, and rock and roll.” A recent article in The New York Times, “Next Question for Tunisia: The Role of Islam in Politics,” appears to offer the additional standards of “brothels,” “beer,” and “bikinis.”

Irtiqa: Blogging from Pakistan: Female Cabbie and “Firefly” video. The article provides just a glimpse of the class and gender struggles in Pakistan. But then again, Pakistan has a history of amazing women leading from the front on issues of human rights and gender equality, and now even the blasphemy law (for example, the indomitable Asma Jahangir, Mukhtaran Mai, Shereen Rehman, etc.).