‘Liberté!’ Born in Russia to Indian and American parents, and largely raised in France, the Sufi princess, musician and children’s storywriter, Noor Inayat Khan is best known for her wartime work as a spy. She worked for Britain in occupied…

Over a career spanning fifty years, which included two world wars, the Egyptian Revolutions of 1919 and 1952, and the Great Depression, Umm Kulthum became recognised as one of the most influential Arab musicians in history, noted for the power…

‘A quest for new means and ideas to enable the countries of the South, too, to enjoy human rights and democracy, while maintaining their political independence and the territorial integrity of their respective countries, must be given top priority by…

‘Leda isn’t the type to ask for directions. She creates her own path for herself, and although it twists and turns, it can only be her path.’ Leda Rafanelli, marginal note. Writer, anarchist, publisher and convert to Islam, Leda Rafanelli…

After all these years / Awakening is my right / In Awakening, I am tired Poem by Shahrzaad, from Thirsty we age Fittingly for a woman who would, in her life, play many roles, Shahrzaad has many names. Her official…

I’m the woman who has awoken I’ve found my path and will never return Poem by Meena   Meena was born into a middle class family in Kabul. Her grandparents had relocated from a rural region and in some ways,…

I invite my readers to join me as I travel the thorny road travelled…by women of my generation who sought knowledge, dignity and self-respect. The above sentence appears in the Prologue of Anbara Salam Khalidi’s memoirs. Her autobiography concisely retells…

Doria Shafik grew up in a modest and traditional middle class family, as the third child of six, and the second daughter. Her life was dedicated to feminist activism in many forms, from poetry and writing to organisation building, and…