Hawo Tako (also known as Xawa Taako or Hawa Osman) was a political activist who has become a symbol of Somali nationalism. Although the reality of her life is largely unknown, she is an important figure within the Somalia’s oral…

It was imperative that the peoples of the world should recognize the existence of a code of civilized behaviour which would apply not only in international relations, but also in domestic affairs. – Shaista Ikramullah Begum Shaista Suhrawardy Ikramullah was…

I thought it would help you to understand how vulnerable immigrant girls often are if I told you what happened to me. It’s not my intention to point the finger at anyone, only try to help you realize the why    …

Last of the Sulayhid dynasty, Arwa al-Sulayhi was regent of Yemen for nearly forty years. Raised by her parents-in-law for the purpose of co-ruling with her husband, she became regent during his illness and continued to rule after his death….

Shajar al-Durr (also known as Shajara, Shagrat, Shagar, Shaggar, ior Shagarat) ruled Egypt in between the Ayyubid dynasty and the Mamluk era, playing a crucial role in the Seventh Crusade. An ambitious, passionate and ruthless woman, she rose from the…

You’re going to miss me when I’m gone. You’re so terrible, with your double standards. You like to watch me, and then you like to say: ‘Why don’t you just die?’ Will you be happy when I die? When I…

They claim that Islam gave women the right to equal education and civil and economic rights, but at the end of their analysis they come to the conclusion that a woman’s place is in her husband’s home and that she…

‘Lots of girls, whom I knew at the time, and who, like me, had their childhoods wrecked by a rape and its aftermath  ̶  bad reps, total rejection and abandonment  ̶  “turned bad.”’ – Samira Bellil. Samira Bellil was a…

I had written strongly because a grave injustice had been perpetuated … All I could do was pray that my magazine would survive the ban. – Zeb-un-Nissa Hamidullah Journalist, poet, novelist and political commentator, Zeb-un-Nissa Hamidullah was one of the…

By Allah, I’m made for higher goals and I walk with grace and style – Wallada bint al-Mustakfi Wallada Bint al-Mustakfi was one of the most influential female poets of the medieval period. She was the daughter of the Umayyad…

Zaha Hadid was an Iraqi-born British architect known for her deconstructive, avant-garde approach to design. Born into a cosmopolitan milieu in Baghdad, Zaha was intrigued by architecture from an early age. Her father was an industrialist and politician in post-Mandate…