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 [...]

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Photo of the day: Wall of Shame

Titillating, attention-grabbing headlines of sexual violence against women and children both desensitises crimes against the weak and fuel society with the fear of the rapist-stranger despite the fact that the majority of rapists are known to victims.

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Not tourists, not on holiday: World Refugee Day 20th June

From UNHCR Canada:
Often classified unfairly with economic migrants, refugees flee their country not for economic gain but to escape persecution, the threat of imprisonment and even threats to their lives. They need a safe haven where they can recover from mental and physical trauma and rebuild their hopes for a better future.
The intolerance that is [...]

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Stop the deportation of SOAS university cleaners!

Students and academics of University of London’s School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) have protested against the brutal arrest of nine members of their cleaning staff for working in the UK without valid permits. Below is the summary of events posted on Facebook:
At 6.30am on Friday the 12th June, ISS (the company who contracts [...]

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No country for Muslim women

First published at Muslimah Media Watch
I am not an Islamic scholar, therefore my opinions on Islam do not count. Worse still,  I’m told that it’s not my place to have an opinion on Islam at all.
This is the general climate of thought in Malaysia put forth in the recent proposal by the country’s main Islamic [...]

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Thoughtful quote of the day

“When talking about aerospace, you ask somebody from NASA, not someone in Somalia,”
The Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party’s (PAS) president, Abdul Hadi Awang, on the party’s democratic right to ban the Muslim Feminist NGO Sisters In Islam for ‘unqualified’ involvement in Islamic law. [Source]

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Joint statement by civil Malaysian society on PAS resolution to ban Sisters In Islam

In light of the recent furore over the Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party’s (PAS) iron-fisted decision to ban the Muslim feminist non-governmental organisation, Sisters In Islam, and to severely punish its members if found to conduct “un-Islamic” activities, a joint statement on behalf of a democratic Malaysian society has been released for the consideration of PAS members [...]

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Mild toxic waste: Malaysian Women’s TV Programmes

Cross-posted from Muslimah Media Watch

As I count the hours to the day I return to Malaysia, I’m compiling my notes and thoughts for a small research project on media images of women in the capital. But I’ve already started collecting preliminary data; my immense curiosity in the representation of Muslim Malay women in the current [...]

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Pink is for tween Muslimahs

Update: An extended version of this post can be found at Muslimah Media Watch
It had to happen sooner or later. With Barbie and now Hannah Montana merchandise dominating the tween to early teenage market in Malaysia, products for young Muslim women in hijab are starting to appear, particularly on the bookshelves. And they look very [...]

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