Women and girls of Muslim heritage are the subject of a great deal of public attention — their dress, their behaviour and their choices are scrutinised. They are a subject of political debate, they may even be invoked as the justification for bombings and invasions of other countries. Everyone speaks about and for them: older religious leaders and conservative community leaders, well-intentioned commentators, international media as well as extremists.
It’s time we listened to them.
sister-hood is a digital magazine which provides Muslim women with a platform to speak for themselves, rather than being spoken for. sister-hood supports and promotes fearless, progressive and creative voices of women of Muslim heritage.
sister-hood is a free space for women and girls from Muslim cultures – whether practicing or not – to share opinions, perspectives and experiences through their own journalism, opinion articles, video diaries, photography, poetry, art or whatever other forms of expression they wish to use. sister-hood promotes honest, first-person exploration as part of their contribution towards cross-cultural dialogue and understanding, towards a more diverse and inclusive public discourse.
The media stereotypes Muslim women as fanatical ‘jihadi brides’ or oppressed victims of a patriarchal religion. Muslim women are disproportionately targets for racist attacks. The progressive, liberal voices of Muslim women and women of Muslim background are often invisible within public space. Within this environment, the voices of women themselves can be a powerful way of shattering these stereotypes.
