Pashtun culture insists upon a strict gender regime, separating women from men. Women are not permitted to compete with men, or even to speak with them. When women have to go out of their homes, for instance to the market,…

Although the common perception is that Saudi Arabia is religiously homogenous, it is actually diverse in its religiosity and religious practices, despite the state’s efforts to present a unified image of its Sunni Muslim identity. The existence of a Shi’a…

A woman in my neighbourhood told me about a horrifying event that shocked me; an event that happened to her cousin Rabia. Rabia’s parents’ financial conditions were not good. They earned little: it was insufficient for a comfortable life, but…

He told me it was ‘the lesser of two evils. At least I’m not sleeping around with other women or chasing a second wife.’ I agreed. I knew at the point of marriage that my husband watched pornography. I didn’t…

Give me someone with an air of authority – until recently a turban, beads, and grey hair would have done the job – and I am all ears for my lessons. Unfortunately, this has mostly led to disappointment. A case…

Due to the current high-profile case of the 18-year-old Ex-Muslim woman escaping Saudi Arabia, discussion about female atheists from the Islamic world is becoming more mainstream. Rahaf al Qunun has managed to galvanise social media and the mainstream press in…

My counsellor let her glasses fall slightly down her nose so I could see directly into her eyes. ‘Do you think this is emotional abuse?’ she asked softly, curiously. I’d told her about my latest row with Dave*. I chuckled…

AMMAN – Shrouq was in her late 20s when her brothers had attempted to kill her for reasons related to family honour. She had tried to shield her sister from their axes and knives. Shrouq, now in her mid-50s, recalls…

At the tender age of 14, I, like thousands of other young women, died. Our lives were brutally cut short. Now, we are languishing in the bowels of hell. Our post-mortems reveal that our community was complicit in our deaths:…

I grew up in the Middle East and have lived here all my life. I’m not sure if I can truly call myself a Muslim. I can’t remember a time when I didn’t question the concept of free will, women’s…

“Fifty thousand years before the sky was introduced to the sea, Allah wrote down your name next to me.”   To my husband, Fawad, I write these words with an intense earnestness to express my unconditional and utmost gratitude for…