Award winning hip-hop dancer and choreographer Amirah Sackett aims to change the stereotypes about Muslim women through this dance video.
Belonging to the coterie of feminists, she is a humanities graduate, aspiring to become a diplomat. She is an audacious person who yearns to do away with the custom of muzzling the already reticent women read more...
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Earlier my husband would say, 'Arey! What is there in making dal-roti? It's so simple.' After he had to cook everyday when I was ill, he has stopped saying that to me!
“Arey! What is there to do in making dal roti? Put a handful of lentils in the cooker and let it whistle and make two rotis. After all, how long will it take?” A handful of dal (lentils) and two rotis! This is the story of every woman and no one seems to understand.
Some time ago, after a shopping spree, my husband and I entered the house, exhausted. I had just about kept all the bags aside, when my husband said, “I am very hungry, can you make something.”
I looked at my husband in amazement and thought, ‘He had just had food, how did he get hungry again so soon?’
My husband, as if he had read my face, said, “Arey! You know that my stomach is not filled with outside food. Just make dal roti. What is there to do in making dal roti? Put a handful of lentils in the cooker and let it whistle and make two rotis. After all, how long will it take?”
‘Is this the way dal (lentils) and roti are made?’ The thought came to my mind. ‘After all, I also went along and now I am tired too.’ I was also getting angry at myself that after all, I had spoiled the habit of everyone in the house.
Nirmala disconnected, and turned to speak to Amma. But she was long gone. Once more, the poor kitchen utensils were bearing the brunt of Amma’s temper.
The Muse of the Month is a monthly writing contest organised by Women’s Web, bringing you original fiction inspired by women.
Ujwala Shenoy Karmarkar is one of the winners for the October 2021 Muse of the Month, and wins a Rs 750 Amazon voucher from Women’s Web. The juror for this month, Himanjali Sankar commented, “The age-old connection between a mother and daughter is explored poignantly through an exasperated love, which is often seemingly angry and impatient, that a daughter feels for her mother and the way she comes to make peace with it. A story set in Covid times that puts us in touch with the importance of love, connections and gratitude in a non-preachy, very real way.”
Nirmala grimaced as she picked up her cup of tea. It was cold and had a greasy film over it. Her class had lasted two hours, and she had been talking continuously for most of it. Her back was aching and her throat was sore.
Stereotypes about Muslim women still rule! The views Donald Trump holds on Muslim women were clear when he pointed fingers at a grieving Muslim American mother's silence.
Stereotypes about Muslim women still rule! The views Donald Trump holds on Muslim women were clear when he pointed fingers at a grieving Muslim American mother’s silence.
Donald Trump has already gained considerable traction across the world for his ideas, views and campaign perspectives. While he professes opinions that are difficult to take sitting down, it is also true that much of what he says is reflective of stereotypical perspectives that continue to remain perpetuated time and time again.
Be it his horrible views on women or his outright inappropriate ideas of immigrants Donald Trump has a string of offensives to offer. The latest on the list is the reassertion of a stereotypical idea that Muslim women are unable to speak for themselves.
It goes without saying that this perspective on Muslim women is both unfounded and offensive. Without any intention to condone what Donald Trump said, it is also important to acknowledge that this is a widely held view across the world – not just the United States alone – and begs reason to intervene to dispel the myth.
Muslim women are not a monolith. Not only do we face the regular challenges that all Indian women do (like harassment or domestic violence) but we also have the additional task of fighting stereotypes.
On Women’s Day, we celebrated women and womanhood, we shared stories of courage and determination to inspire and the talk of empowerment echoed all over, but it’s also time to remember the specific challenges of minority women.
As we read the stories, it was confirmed that it is not an easy task to be a woman and to be a Muslim woman is even more challenging. Not only do we face the regular challenges that all women do but we also have the additional task of fighting stereotypes. Muslim women have repeatedly being painted as oppressed and controlled by their families – scores of Muslim women have succeeded in various fields but the stereotypes seem to adhere to us strongly.
From mainstream media to movies, the representation is flawed – we are boxed into a type and breaking this has become one of our biggest challenge in present times. Muslims are not a single entity, we are a heterogenous group with diverse cultures and social status; this aspect is mostly ignored when we are stereotyped. Muslim women come from a diverse circle of social and economy strata but alas the ‘oppressed ‘version seems to pander to the stereotypes.