Now I just spend my time in prayer and praise God through my ragas. – Roshan Ara Begum Roshan Ara was known as the Queen of Music, a master vocalist. She sang in classical South Asian musical traditions, associated with…

A lot of people think I am impolite but I am not…I’m straightforward. – Tahia Carioca Tahia Carioca was a dancer and movie star, who became known as the Marilyn Monroe of the Arab world. She was one of the…

The oppression of women is historical. We have to liberate women economically, socially, psychologically, physically, religiously. – Nawal el Saadawi Nawal el Saadawi was one of the foremost, and most controversial, feminists in the Arab world, whose fierce and uncompromising…

‘I’m an artist. My musical world is in mourning…Even if they send me into exile, I won’t be destroyed. I’ll set up a music club and dance, sing and play.’ – Khadija Gayibova Khadija Gayibova was a the first professional…

The woman at the beginning of her second marriage was a different woman from the one she was at the end of it, and during both these phases, she was different from the woman who entered the City Prison in…

Indian educationalist Fatima Sheikh is known for her commitment to universal education in India, as shown through her collaboration with the social reformers Savitribai Phule and Jyotirao Phule in teaching women and lower-caste children. The Phule couple were major social…

I gave birth to her daughter and her name was Egyptian Cinema – Aziza Amir Aziza Amir was a pioneer of Egyptian cinema, creating and starring in a series of motion pictures, often melodramas. She was born in Alexandria, as…

Kurmanjan Datka is regarded as the mother of the Kyrgyz peoples for her efforts to make peace with Russia and preserve the Kyrgyz identity. Kurmanjan was the daughter of Mamatnay, a nomadic Kyrgyz tribesman and stockbreeder from Mungush. She was…

The feminine perspective is extremely important, because no one has paid attention to it in any of the translations (of the Qur’an) into other languages. So it is very easy to misintpret the role of women in Islam, or ignore…

‘I want to be the mother of all Uyghurs, the medicine for their ills, the cloth with which they dry their tears, and the cloak to protect them from the rain.’ – Rebiya Kadeer Rebiya Kadeer is a businesswoman and…

Aisha al-Manoubia, also known as Lalla Manoubia, was a Berber woman who rose to become the highest authority on Sufism in Tunisia. She was considered one of the four spiritual guardians of the capital city Tunis. Aisha was born in…