sister-hood is an award-winning digital magazine spotlighting the diverse voices of women of Muslim heritage.
I am angry. The fury of life is enraging me. I have six glasses in my kitchen cupboard. Deliberately the thickest glassware you can buy in hope that the children don’t smash them every dinner time. I want to take…
While men from our community stare at any scantily dressed girls, it is actually the women who urge us to be more decent. When these men see us hanging out with our male friends, it is the women who afterwards shout at us that we…
Many, if not most, ex-Muslims experience honour-based violence and/or abuse. The official definition of ‘honour’-based violence is that it is a crime which has been committed to protect or defend the honour of the family and/or community. In the case…
Violent harangues of hunger pangs, Solemnly suppressed by invoking hands. Tired, listless, lethargic limbs, Silently cleanse the soul from sins. Somnolent, tired eyes, Stay awake to seek their prize. Dehydrated, throbbing heads, Understand the blessings of health. A gathering of…
It was in April, 1990 when my mother was diagnosed with cancer of the gallbladder. Wouldn’t you know it? She’d have an oddball type of cancer. Mom went through chemotherapy during one of the hottest summers in one of the…
One pillar of Islam that my mum strictly adhered to was the difficult but humbling act of fasting. Unfortunately, at the point that it became obligatory for me to fulfil this religious duty, the lunar Islamic calendar was displaying summer,…
I am so utterly done with being required to defend Ramadan to Muslims and, quite often, non-Muslims alike. The script goes, ‘Oh! You cannot eat all month!’ ‘From sunrise to sunset,’ I reply. Then comes: ‘What if you get hungry…
‘It is your road and yours alone. Others may walk it with you, but no one can walk it for you’ – Rumi Loneliness can cause a deep sadness that weakens your physical and spiritual health. I first realised how…
I feel a great deal of frustration when people suggest because a rapist has been acquitted, then this means they are not guilty. Having worked in the sexual violence sector, I am aware of how the system works – and…
Pakistan’s Aurat March (Part 1) On International Women’s Day, Hum Aurtain (We, the Women), a collective, activism-oriented initiative organized the Aurat March in Pakistan. Activists carried placards on critical issues such as ‘honour’ killings and forced marriages. Others carried simple,…
Without collective action women’s status will not improve – Bonnie Kreps Pakistan’s Aurat March (Part 2) Aurat March 2019 established the need for modifying the responses of ordinary Pakistanis and the strategies of women’s rights activists. I have already discussed…
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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