#MuslimWomensDay Celebration Hit with Backlash
- By Alison Lesley --
- 31 Mar 2017 --
First-ever Muslim Women’s Day celebrated and bashed.
Monday was observed by Muslim women around the world as Muslim Women’s Day[/tweetit], thanks to the initiative by MuslimGirl.com. The website, run by and for Muslim women started a hashtag campaign, #MuslimWomensDay, which quickly picked up and soon became a global phenomenon.
#MuslimWomensDay Celebration Hit with Backlash[/tweetthis]
Muslim Women's Day is all about fighting against the sexist, patriarchal forces that seek to subdue women. At a time when disguised sexism and overt Islamophobia are gaining momentum all over the world, the Muslim Women's Day is a call to all Muslim women to stand up for their rights and to show solidarity with Muslim women who find it hard to practice their faith. Besides, Muslim women are a group whose voices are unheard, and this day is meant to encourage open discussion and bring these Muslim women to the forefront of society.
A number of women's rights conferences and meetings are seen to involve very few women. Even in the case of women's rights in Muslim nations, people have noted how no woman participant was involved. In fact even in Western countries, whenever there is a discussion about the issue of hijabs, very few hijabs are actually invited to share their perspectives. This raises a fundamental question as to how effective the outcome of these conferences are going to be if the primary victims and sufferers are not going to be part of the discussion. Naturally, these first-hand perspectives and experiences don't go into the decisions that are taken, thereby creating an impotent solution to the problems.
International Muslim women's day is also a day to celebrate the achievements by Muslim women, both hijabis as well as non-hijabis achievements that otherwise go unnoticed under all the prejudices and hatred.
#MuslimWomensDay takes off on Twitter amid celebration and backlash https://t.co/Utt1enUpGu by #HuffingtonPost via @c0nvey pic.twitter.com/mBeFJqnzA1
— patricia arce (@parcear) March 27, 2017
Notable among these names are American Olympic runner Dalilah Muhammad, Iranian Olympian Arezou Hakimimoghaddam, first private female space explorer Anousheh Ansari, UAE’s first female fighter pilot Mariam al-Mansouri, first Muslim woman cabinet member in the U.S. Sayeeda Warsi, and of course the young Muslim who won the world's heart, Malala Yousafzai.
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