by Rukhshana Maufiqah __ As an Indian Muslim, Tamil-speaking 20-year-old, I have come to learn over the years that the locals here tend to mix race, religion and language together. They have this mindset that the Malays will speak Malay and that they are Muslims; Indians speak Tamil and that they are Hindus; Chinese speak…
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Baharwaali ladkidoes not need to know where she stands from where she sits in a classlearning a language in a tongue that isn’t hers although the only place where she belongsis Malay words in karangan with double ticksfor Peribahasaand her favourite topic of death and its testwhich gets her the highest marks among the rest…
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Gathered by ‘Afifah Shameemah __ These pieces are collections of candid responses from South Asian Muslim Women. These pieces were written to share some of the experiences of ladies in the community and to hopefully inspire some type of change. These pieces were written by South Asian women, for South Asian women. This is for…
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by Soorma Bhopali __ “What are you?” “What is your race?” These are questions that are thrown at me frequently, the latter of which was only asked recently at a small family get-together. I was stunned to be asked such a personal question in front of people I had just met that day. As a…
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by Mahina Shareef __ In 2000, my parents migrated to Singapore from a conservative rural town in India with three young kids in tow. While the Indian Muslim community here has a long history, I want to explore my experience as a first-generation immigrant in relation to the Malay community. The presence of the Malay…
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by ‘Afifah Shameemah __ “They call us crows; black, ugly, noisy. ‘The crows have descended’, they’ll joke among themselves.” – M. A. A friend, M, reached out to me to share her experiences as an Indian Muslim woman in Singapore through an insightful yet disheartening email. Much like her, many other South Asian Muslims have…
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Beyond The Hijab 