Cut from the Same Cloth?
From modern pop culture to anti-Blackness, faith and family, politics, education, creativity and working life; this anthology gives visibly Muslim women a space to speak.
SPOILER ALERT: We won’t be answering the usual questions!
Perceived as the visual representation of Islam, hijab-wearing Muslim women are nevertheless rarely afforded a platform on their own terms. Harangued by awkward questions, radical commentators sensationalising our existence, non-Muslims and non-hijabis making assumptions, men speaking on our behalf, or stereotypical norms being perpetuated by the same old faces, hijabis are tired. Cut from the Same Cloth? seeks to tip the balance back in our favour. Here, twenty-one women of all ages and races look beyond the tired tropes, exploring the breadth of our experience and spirituality. It’s time we, as a society, stop with the hijab-splaining and make space for the women who know.
Essays by Negla Abdalla, Zahra Adams, Sabeena Akhtar, Mariam Ansar, Fatima Ahdash, Shaista Aziz, Suma Din, Khadijah Elshayyal, Ruqaiya Haris, Raisa Hassan, Fatha Hassan, Sumaya Kassim, Rumana Lasker Dawood, Suhaiymah Manzoor Khan, Asha Mohamed, Sofia Rehman, Yvonne Ridley Aisha Rimi, Khadijah Rotimi, Sophie Williams, Hodan Yusuf.
Sabeena Akhtar is a writer and editor, and Festival Coordinator of Bare Lit, the UK’s principal festival celebrating remarkable writers in the diaspora. She is also co-founder of the Primadonna Festival, which spotlights the work of women writers, and Bare Lit Kids, the UK’s first children’s festival showcasing the work of writers of colour. Sabeena lives in London.
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