Definitely not! Today is International Women’s day, I am in Pakistan, and women are cheering – at least those I have spoken to. ‘What is there to celebrate?’ I ask. Only a week ago Pakistan’s Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy won her second Oscar for her documentary on honor killing. ‘Precisely for that reason,’ they tell me, ‘and more’.
Read moreThe Sounds I No Longer Missed
I am up at 4 am, jet lagged after a twenty hour flight to Pakistan. I pull myself out of bed, wobble down to my sister's kitchen, and brew myself a cup of chai. In the stillness of the night, I curl up with my tea and tasbeeh, reciting the names of Allah. The house is quiet, the night quieter. And then I hear it. The lone man's voice, beaming off the minaret somewhere in the vicinity,
Read moreLeap Year Day Proposals: Is It Different for Muslim Women?
Image credit: Getty Images
You bet. For Muslim women, every day is a leap year day—to propose, that is. I am not proselytizing. Honest! Just relishing my Muslim feminist moment.
Read moreA View On Marriage
Why did I marry my husband?
On the treadmill this morning, I clicked open David Brook’s Op-Ed ‘Three Views of Marriage’. Hmmm! Did my decision to marry Khalid fit into any one of those views?
Getting Your Work Published: What I learned. Part 1 of 3
Getting Your Work Published: What I learned. Part 2 of 3
What Editors & Agents Are Looking For
Read moreGetting Your Work Published: What I learned. Part 3 of 3
Improving Your Work
Read moreWhat My Father Saw - #BlackHistoryMonth
I don’t remember how old I was when I read Uncle Tom’s Cabin, but I do remember how I felt. A young girl, growing up in Pakistan, I remember asking Daddy
Read moreWorld Hijab Day - What about Me?
"Daadi, can you read me a story," my three-year old granddaughter handed me a picture book she brought from her pre-school library. I looked at the title. 'Ramadan'. Feeling pleased with her choice,
Read moreA COLD SHOWER
“The water in the shower is not hot enough,” my husband said as he stepped out of the bathroom.
Disappointed?
I had just doused my hair with oil,