By Afiqa Ab Rahman Recently I attended a workshop where participants from Singapore, Malaysia, India, and Thailand shared their experiences and discussed about Female Genital Mutilation (FGM). Variations of the term include Female Genital Cutting (FGC) or “Sunat Perempuan”. It was intriguing to hear the experiences and research findings from various countries. But what intrigued…
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International Day of Zero Tolerance from Female Genital Mutilation (FGM)
In commemoration of International Day of Zero Tolerance from Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) on 6 February, Beyond the Hijab ran a 6-part series of blog posts by women living in Singapore about their thoughts and reflections on the practice of female circumcision in Singapore. Let’s Talk about “Sunat Perempuan” Leave Them Alone My Body Is…
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Moving Beyond Homogenizing The Hijab: Part 2
By Nurul Huda Rashid Of late, the term ‘hijab’ has been used pervasively across different contexts of discussion, from that of religion, ‘Islamization’, the symbolic, in movements and representation, and especially in relation to the discussion of women, ‘Muslim women’. The latter is a most contested term as it is often relegated a single identity…
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Moving Beyond Homogenizing the Hijab: Part 1
By Diana Rahim It seems like we never stop talking about the Hijab. Asra Nomani and Hala Arafa unearthed a storm of anger and debate recently with their op-ed in the Washington Post which went down bitterly for understandable reasons. Although well-meaning, they also came across as condescending and reductive, not particularly acceptable in a…
Read MoreThe Pain of Sex
By anonymous For the past few years, I have struggled with pain associated with vaginal intercourse. I visited doctors but none could provide me with the answers I was looking for. “Have more sex, it’ll open up…it is supposed to hurt…try different angles.” The advice was never helpful and only reinforced my worry that there was something wrong…
Read MoreHijab Pressure
From a few life experiences, I have deduced the following: Ways to encourage doning the hijab that work: 1. Tell the person gently to don it for the sake of Allah. 2. Explain the benefits. 3. Share your personal struggles with the hijab and how you overcame it. 4. Allow freedom of choice. 5. Encourage;…
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Beyond The Hijab 