Category: Opinion

  • Homebound shows how oppression teaches us to hate ourselves

    Homebound shows how oppression teaches us to hate ourselves

    Recently, I took myself to watch Neeraj Ghaywan’s Homebound, whose storyline I can describe as not only heartbreaking but also defiant, considering the current political climate of India.  Of course I had to watch this film, not because I heard good reviews, but because it is based on Kashmiri journalist Basharat Peer’s NYT piece A…

  • How are Muslim women reclaiming Islamic interpretations of gender?

    How are Muslim women reclaiming Islamic interpretations of gender?

    This piece was originally published on The Middle East Beat, which I am reproducing here, as the publication seems to have gone defunct. The clash between what we know as feminism and Islam has for decades centred around whether women have rights in Islam and how the interpretations of the Qur’an,  view women second to…

  • The love-hate relationship of Muslim men with Andrew Tate

    The love-hate relationship of Muslim men with Andrew Tate

    As I type this piece, Romanian prosecutors are building a case of human trafficking against self-proclaimed misogynist Andrew Tate. He is also facing a charge of rape, while being accused of running a prostitution ring.  In a normal world, Tate would, at the very least, be a disgraced celebrity and a persona non-grata. But we…

  • In Indian schools, Islamophobia is going unchecked

    In Indian schools, Islamophobia is going unchecked

    I write on Islamophobia, racism, sexism, casteism, and homophobia in schools.

  • Two Homes

    “So here you are Too foreign for home Too foreign for here Never enough for both” —- by  Ijeoma Umebinyuo I often get asked, as most people ask this question out of habit, where I am from. Sigh. Where indeed! Am I supposed to simply state my nationality? Or am I supposed to mention the…

  • The real cause of PCOS

    Recently, a friend on Facebook shared this picture, and well, you be the judge of this ridiculousness: Obviously, I was outraged, and looked it up just to be sure it wasn’t “fake news”, because you know, FAKE NEWS. Here’s a link. But let me not change focus. Ms. Deshpande’s statements are bogus in every way and…

  • Before you wear the red dress

    Before you wear the red dress

    A few months ago, I wrote a polemic for a university course. Today I want to publish it on my blog because I think a lot more Muslim women need to know about this. It is rather long—but worth a read. The Islamic Nikahnama (pre-nuptial agreement) safeguards a lot of your rights as women –…

  • Stuck in Limbo

    The Internet is flooded with memes making fun of paranoid 20-something year olds, the seemingly adult humans who, in actuality, are pretty much unaware of adulthood. If there’s anything the Internet got right, it is those listicles that people can ‘relate’ to, especially if you belong to the category that subscribes to Buzzfeed News. Not…