Sexuality
Islam and Sexuality – Gay Muslims in the West can face lack of acceptance within their families and their religion, as well as experiencing wider prejudice against their faith, fostering a complex and contradictory identity. THE SATURDAY PAPER
Study on mental health impacts of anti-gay religious prejudice should be a ‘wake-up call’ for faith leaders Faith leaders who insist same-sex couples should not be able to marry — even those who also promote love and support for LGB people — may be causing serious harm to the mental health of LGB individuals, the author of a new study on the impacts of religious anti-gay prejudice has said. ABC NEWS
Religion/Gender
How can Muslim feminists reclaim their religion from men? Muslim feminists face a triple challenge, similar to other women of colour. They are working to dismantle sexism in their communities, while simultaneously dealing with the accusation of exposing their communities to Islamophobia. ABC NEWS
Islamic scholar seen as both heroine and heretic – Her central thesis is that for centuries Islam has been interpreted by male scholars which has obscured its essentially egalitarian ethos. This ethos, she says, has inspired her reform work particularly around Islamic family law. SMH
Ms Saffaa, protest art and the fledgling Saudi Arabia women’s rights movement Part of her activism is borne out of subverting the western framing of Saudi women as victims, rather than as agents of their own liberation. This co-opting, she says, only furthers the infantilisation they were fighting against, with women used as pawns in a cultural battleground of rising Islamophobia. THE GUARDIAN
Reviews
A Siphon for Fury – Sydney Review of Books
Interviews
Alice Pung – Author Alice Pung on the complicated lives of mothers and daughters SBS
George Haddad – Novelist George Haddad on family, identity and western Sydney SBS
Soraya Chemaly – “I think it’s helpful to know we’re not all crazy” SBS
Roxane Gay – Roxane Gay on the importance of taking up space and being heard SBS
Mandy Len Catron – Why this woman had her husband sign a marriage contract SBS
Sarah Malik 