sister-hood is an award-winning digital magazine spotlighting the diverse voices of women of Muslim heritage.
sister-hood is a digital magazine and a series of live events. We create platforms for women of Muslim heritage to speak for themselves, rather than being spoken for or spoken about. sister-hood challenges stereotypes and promotes the fearless, progressive, creative voices of women of Muslim heritage.
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’In Her Honour’
‘Honour’ based violence exists in many forms around the world, from more subtle social controls to more visible physical violence and crimes. ‘Honour’ killings portray the worst of humanity and the most grievous of patriarchal norms and practices perpetrated against women, men and children. These injustices were committed to ensure that the world forgets the life and name of the person killed, often by the very family members who gave them their name.
But we will not forget. We cannot forget.
Memini {or Remembrance} is an online memorial site dedicated to victims of ‘honour’ killings, whose lives were robbed of existence by their very own families and communities. We intend to honour, truly honour, the lives of victims in small ways and words.
Through Memini take a few minutes see the faces, read their names and the little information we have been able to acquire about them. Offer them a moment of your time to acknowledge their existence. To remember them like they were your own.
Offer a commitment to ensure, in whatever way you can, that in the near future is a world in which every human being has the right to a life of dignity and freedom of choice. And where compassion reigns stronger than hate.
Online memoriam: www.memini.co
More information about honor based violence: HBV Awareness Network
Night frost on the window sill,
Reflects her story within it.
They thought the frost would melt
Come blistering rays of sun,
And the morning would forget
That she had lived.
But the frost turned to air,
Air to wind,
Wind to song,
Sung to the world
That she had lived.
Her nights of battle
And her days of war,
Soldiering alone
In the battlegrounds
That is the life of a woman.
Oh dear one,
They wished to forget you,
They who are meant to protect you
What can we do now?
Do tell us your favorite color?
What did you think of roses?
What songs made you dance?
Did you know the sky was blue today?
The stars they shine bright for you
The roses release their scent in your honor
The birds they sing in memory of you
Their cold heart cannot hold your warm presence, my dear
But you live on forever in all beings innocent
In you is the life of every woman.
To forget your story is to forgot ours,
To honor your life,
Is to ensure that we too live a life of honor.
And love as beings capable of love.
For those who believe in love but who hath love snatched away,
Do still believe.
Love is that brighter day that seem so far away,
Yet it is on its way…. it is on its way.
Hyshyama Hamin
Hyshyama is an activist and researcher working on women's rights and Muslim family law reforms. She is Sri Lankan born and was raised in Nepal. Occasionally, she dabbles in photography and poetry.