Sunday reflection: Three awesome women
Posted: May 19, 2013 Filed under: Sunday Reflection | Tags: accomplishment, First Pakistani woman to scale Mount Everest, First Saudi woman to scale Mount Everest, inspiration, Iqbal El-Assaad, Love InshAllah, Mount Everest, Muslim love, Muslim men, Muslim relationships, Muslim women, Pakistan, Palestine, pride, Raha Moharrak, Samina Baig, Saudi arabia, Saudi mountaineer, Youngest Arab doctor Leave a comment »Rounding out our weekend of awesome women:
27-year-old Raha Moharrak made history by becoming the first Saudi woman to conquer Mount Everest yesterday.
Moharrak’s ascent is the latest step in changing attitudes towards women and sports in Saudi Arabia. The kingdom fielded its first female Olympians at the 2012 Games and officially permitted sports in private girls schools for the first time earlier this month.
Read more at CNN.
Meet two more awesome women after the jump!
Saturday Buzz: Niloofar Rhmani
Posted: May 18, 2013 Filed under: Saturday Buzz | Tags: 2nd Lt. Niloofar Rhmani, Afghan Air Force, Afghanistan, Love InshAllah, Muslim love, Muslim men, Muslim relationships, Muslim women, Niloofar Rhmani Leave a comment »
Photo by Scott Saldukas
Afghan Air Force 2nd Lt. Niloofar Rhmani made history May 14, 2013 when she became the first female in over 30 years to successfully complete undergraduate pilot training and earn the status of pilot. She will continue her service as she joins the Kabul Air Wing as a Cessna 208 pilot.
Why I Don’t Compete in Love
Posted: May 16, 2013 Filed under: Your voices | Tags: american muslims, love, relationships, women writers, dating, your voices, Love InshAllah, Muslim love, Muslim relationships, From Rae with love 1 Comment »
In the past couple of years I’ve watched friends, former lovers and exes alike choose people to boo up with and partner up with. Some I’ve been surprised by, others made sense to me. Real talk, it doesn’t matter what I think at the end of the day. If you like it, I love it.
I could ask why someone chooses one person over another person but I don’t think there’s any real rhyme or reason. It’s like asking why one person’s voice sounds like a warm and lovely lullaby while another person’s voice sounds like nails against a chalkboard.
I just don’t think we have a choice in the matter.
Read the rest of this entry »
The Doctor Will See You Now
Posted: May 15, 2013 Filed under: The Geekologist | Tags: Doctor Who, family, family memories, Geek culture, grief and loss, losing a brother, losing a family member, losing a loved one, love, Love InshAllah, Muslim geek girls, Muslim love, Muslim men, Muslim relationships, Muslim women, nerd flag, nerdy girls, sci-fi/fantasy 7 Comments »
Zainab Chaudary is Love Inshallah’s resident geek. Look for her column, “The Geekologist” every third Wednesday of the month!
First rule of Fight Club: you do not talk about Fight Club.
First rule of Browncoats: aim to misbehave.
First rule of Whovians: you never forget your first Doctor.
Every geek has a poison of choice. Yes, you can fan out over multiple shows and let your mind wander the ‘verse of “Firefly” or the final frontiers of “Star Trek.” But there’s always that one thing you connect with above all others – a show, a character, or a comic book hero. My poison of choice? A little British show about a 900-year old alien Time Lord with two hearts, (mostly) human physiology, and the ability to regenerate himself when on the verge of death: “Doctor Who.”
In 2006, I was working at a bookstore, navigating my way back to a life I no longer recognized after three years of living abroad. Life was different and yet the same, and like the Doctor, the new layered onto the old. When a coworker introduced me to Doctor Who, I recognized something of myself in it, in the man who travels, never ceasing, never stopping, and in the people who travel with him, only to inevitably get left behind. Like most sci fi and fantasy, it is the fantastical premise that throws universal human-ness into sharp relief and depicts the reality of being human better than any sitcom with a canned laugh track. These shows are unafraid to take risks, and prepare their fan base for anything. Even separation. Even death.
A Letter to My Harasser
Posted: May 14, 2013 Filed under: Etc. | Tags: Afghanistan, Love InshAllah, Muslim love, Muslim men, Muslim relationships, Muslim women, Noorjahan Akbar, Safe World for Women, standing up!, street harassment 2 Comments »
(Noorjahan Akbar – Photo by Alex Motiuk)
Hello sir,
I do not know your name, but you passed by me a week after Eid-ul-Fetr in the Bazaar in Kabul. You might remember me. I was the young woman wearing a white scarf and a long red embroidered tunic with dark pants. I was standing by a vegetable stand and bargaining the price of fresh mint when you passed me and nonchalantly pinched my bottom. I turned red. The old man who was selling vegetables noticed but didn’t say anything. He probably sees this every day. This had happened to me more than once, but this time I felt more embarrassed because the old man noticed.
I ran after you and grasped your wrist. Scared and sweating I started yelling. “Why did you do that? How dare you? Do you do this at home to your family members too?” and you started yelling back louder, “You crazy woman! I haven’t done anything. You are not worth doing anything to.”
I was still ashamed to tell people what you had done. You probably remember how everyone was watching us. Other women advised me to keep calm, that this would only ruin my reputation, but I wasn’t going to give up now. I started yelling. Soon the police arrived and took us both to the station.
Read the rest of this extraordinary letter by Noorjahan Akbar at Safe World for Women.
Related: HollaBack! You have the power to end street harassment.
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