No amount of sex education is going to help a young person not get pregnant. It just makes them feel even more sexy. [More here] “Feminist” Fay Weldon and her thoughts on sex education and teenage pregnancy.
Category: Feminism
Purdah
When I was in school, congregations in the surau (small prayer halls or mini mosque) would be segregated by gender: women on one side, men on the other. We would enter the same door, pray next to each other but separated by a wispy thin, almost see-through curtain. I understood that women simply felt comfortable… Continue reading Purdah
Guest post: Asian fetishism is sexist and racist
The following is a guest post by regular commenter, Gareth: I am a white Englishman with an Asian girlfriend. I believe the so-called ‘Asian fetish’ is both racist and sexist, and here is why. Being a white, straight man gives me a ton load of privilege, and that privilege is systemic and global. I am… Continue reading Guest post: Asian fetishism is sexist and racist
Film Review: The Mosque in Morgantown
First published at Feminist Review. Muslimah Media Watch has also the goods. Reading the official synopsis of The Mosque in Morgantown, I quickly got the impression that it was a documentary film that revolved around the battle between journalist-activist Asra Nomani and “the extremists” in her hometown Morgantown, West Virginia. It is the kind of… Continue reading Film Review: The Mosque in Morgantown
Oh, by the way…
Cycads is now one year old!
Book review: Race, Space, and the Law
First published at Feminist Review Institutional racism: we all know it exists, yet many deny it does. In this book, Sherene Razack, author of Looking White People in the Eye, edits a set of deeply disturbing accounts of racially-motivated public policies and resultant public consciousness in North America. Beginning with the premise “Race is Space,”… Continue reading Book review: Race, Space, and the Law
Why do I find this so disconcerting?
Meeting Nicole Kidman up close, I realised that she looks like a beautiful doll. I have never met any woman as tall as her. I thought all the women from my slum would be so small in front of her. But her skin, lips and hands, they were all perfect. I thought if I touched… Continue reading Why do I find this so disconcerting?
Mother of all sins: the caning of Kartika Sari Dewi
They say that money is the root of all evil. At times, I couldn’t agree more. But now I hear that alcohol consumption is the “mother of all sins”. I’m not going into detail about which sins are worse, but more on the earthly consequences of such sins as defined by the male religious elite.… Continue reading Mother of all sins: the caning of Kartika Sari Dewi
The blogging continues!
I’m back! But looks like I’ve lost many fans of Cycads along the way 😦 Anyhoo, the posts are still rolling. Give me a shout if you’re still with me.
Away
It’s that time again, dear readers – I’m disappearing yet again! Though I’m far from happy to say that; writing conditions here have not been conducive or ideal. So there have been fewer posts this month and Cycads is starting gather cobwebs. A new, temporary research job at University of Malaya has taken up much… Continue reading Away
Alicia Izharuddin 