Steps in the Right Direction for Kuwaiti Women
By Mona Eltahawy Nov. 5, 2009 Metro Within a week in October, Kuwaiti women won two small victories that were ­baby steps for womankind, but a nightmare come true for Muslim fundamentalists, who for decades blocked political rights for women. First, Kuwait’s constitutional court ruled married women could obtain passports and travel without their husbands’ permission. The court said the previous requirement was in violation of guarantees of freedom and gender equality in the constitution. The second victory came when the constitutional court dismissed a case raised by an Islamist voter who claimed that two of four women elected to parliament in May â€

Torture for Beer Drinkers
By Mona Eltahawy The Washington Post Tuesday, October 27, 2009 KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA During the recent U.N. General Assembly meetings in New York, Foreign Minister Anifah Aman painted a picture of Malaysia that many like to see — a multiethnic mosaic of religions, races and beliefs. “The Malaysian government has introduced the One Malaysia concept,” Aman said. “It aims at fostering appreciation and respect for all races, seeing diversity as a source of strength. It envisages unity that arises from true acceptance instead of mere tolerance.” Yet the same day that Aman extolled the virtues of one Malaysia for all, a judge’s rul

Hot and Bothered Over Fake Hymens
By Mona Eltahawy Metro Canada Oct. 23, 2009 Proving one more time that when it comes to Muslim women, it’s about headscarves and hymens — in other words, what’s on our heads and what’s between our legs — Egypt is hot and bothered over a Chinese device that fakes female virginity. It’s reportedly available in Syria for $15 but nobody knows if the gizmo called Gigimo is on sale in Egypt yet. Just the mere thought of a device, which is said to release liquid imitating blood, allowing a woman to fake virginity on her wedding night, has driven some conservatives crazy. One Egyptian Muslim scholar even went so far as to say that people caught import

Interview with Egyptian independent newspaper
After I received a death threat in August, Egyptian journalist Hoda Zakaria from the independent newspaper Al Youm Al Sabe3 contacted me to conduct an interview about a few of my recent opeds which have caused a bit of a stir in Egypt. She also asked me about Egyptian Culture Minister Farouk Hosni who lost his bid to become Unesco chief. Before the Unesco vote, I’d written an oped in the Washington Post saying he didn’t deserve the post. After his loss, Hosni questioned my loyalty to Egypt and said that I didn’t have the “spirit of Egypt” in me. I respond to those ludicrous accusations in the interview.

The TE’A Project: Headscarf
Check out this great video of how a theatre company put together a play on what it’s like to be Muslim in America today. I attended their premiere and asked them in the post-performance facilitated dialogue to also depcit Muslim women who don’t wear hijab. And to their credit, they did.