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.
Research and publications
Beer and the intoxicating effect of power
Malaysia has given the BBC news more ridiculousness to report. As of three days ago, the world can confirm that the religious right in Malaysia are obsessed with beer. Not long ago Kartika Sari Dewi’s postponed sentence for drinking beer in public made international headline news and now Malaysian Muslims will not be allowed to… Continue reading Beer and the intoxicating effect of power
Ramadhan Mubarak, people!
This is a somewhat delayed, but still very special (and delicious) message to every hungry Muslim out there.
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
Back to Old Blighty!!
I’m flying back to England early tomorrow morning!
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
Burqas and the British Police Farce
First published at Muslimah Media Watch Oh, this is just hilarious. Three female police officers were ordered to dress up as Muslim women for the day just to see what it felt like. They wore traditional burkhas as part of a scheme designed to help police interact better with the Islamic community. It’s like going… Continue reading Burqas and the British Police Farce
Oh, by the way…
Cycads is now one year old!
Notes on interracial and (post)colonial traveling
Some interracial couples may have some misgivings about traveling abroad together, particularly to places that are reputed to be intolerant – Saudi Arabia, Dubai and a host of other predominantly Muslim countries are quick to come up as examples. I can kind of understand why. The ghost of anti-miscegenation laws, racism, and the effects of… Continue reading Notes on interracial and (post)colonial traveling
Alicia Izharuddin 