Research and publications

It's a great time to be a feminist and a Muslim

Originally featured on the BBC today: Some of the world’s leading Islamic feminists have been gathered in Barcelona for the third International Congress on Islamic Feminism, to discuss the issues women face in the Muslim world. Some of the women taking part in the conference explained the problems in their home countries, and where they… Continue reading It's a great time to be a feminist and a Muslim

Shame and stupidity: a brief history of Malaysian womanhood

Malaysian women of different cultures and ethinicities welcome visitors from abroad in their colourful traditional costumes. They all smile benignly, and they all look beautiful. This is the ‘Malaysia, truly Asia’ tourism campaign. But wait – the lady in the sari (second from left) does not look Indian at all; she’s very light-skinned unlike the… Continue reading Shame and stupidity: a brief history of Malaysian womanhood

More posts coming shortly!

I’ve been a little busy sorting out a few things here and there, and trying to find a part-time job. I will return very soon with more postings! Sorry for the unbearable wait!

A little more on feminist porn…

The article at the Guardian today perhaps further substantiates my previous article on feminist porn and its growing influence in academia and the arts: It could only happen in the country that gave us Emmanuelle, Monica Bellucci in an anal rape scene and two young actresses romping through a hyper-violent bad-girl road movie with real-life… Continue reading A little more on feminist porn…

Blurring the lines between social critique and pornography

I’ve come to terms with the idea that women have negotiated with age-old kinky fantasies, repackage them into female desire-driven works and named them ‘feminist porn’. And by ‘feminist porn’ I mean erotica made by women for women while at the same time trying everything in the postfeminist handbook to dispel the bad conscience of… Continue reading Blurring the lines between social critique and pornography

Where I've been the last two weeks

Here. At my desk slaving away on my fiendish proposal and sweet-talking my editors via e-mail. More posts will return in good time, but in the meantime, feel free to explore my desk on flickr. Oh, the joys of today’s technology!

Would Ramadhan ruin the pleasures of a stiff drink?

Or rather, would a good stiff drink ruin your Ramadhan? Khaled Diab writes eloquently (as always) about mixing fasting with alcohol during the holy month of Ramadhan at The Guardian. Here’s a teaser: In Europe, Ramadan creeps up on you with none of the fanfare associated with the fasting season in the Muslim world, where… Continue reading Would Ramadhan ruin the pleasures of a stiff drink?

A (post)colonial love story

Read this today and nearly puked: “Ours is a classic story of forbidden love, elopement, family estrangement and reconciliation. People say it’s so romantic,” says Englishman Tim Wallace from the veranda of his home in the town of Tura in north-east India. “People say it’s so romantic”, he says. Honestly, I hate stories like this,… Continue reading A (post)colonial love story

Oh dear…

Originally posted part of the ‘Bollywood Nights’ series at The Guardian: “The most God-awful film I have ever seen in any genre, anywhere in the world” Nirpal Dhaliwal reviews ‘The Last Lear‘, the latest in the emerging English-language Bollywood film industry, starring the ubiquitous Amitabh Bachan. You’d think that Shakespeare and Bollywood would be made… Continue reading Oh dear…