Muslim Women: Past and Present

Recommend a Muslim Woman

Throughout the ages, from the earliest days of Islam to contemporary times today, Muslim women have been and continue to be active leaders in their communities and countries across the world. This directory is a growing archive of leading Muslim women scholars, activists, writers, politicians, artists, religious and spiritual leaders, civil society leaders and more. Please contribute to this archive by suggesting Muslim women to be featured through our recommendation form.

  • By Category
  • By Name
  • By Century
  • By Country
  • Search


Jennifer Heath

photo of Jennifer Heath

Known For: Scholar, curator, writer and editor
Country: United States

About

Jennifer Heath is an independent scholar, curator and award-winning writer/editor, the author of eight books of fiction and non-fiction, including The Scimitar and the Veil: Extraordinary Women of Islam published by Paulist Press/HiddenSpring in 2004.  This highly praised book, written in a poetic, sometimes humorous, always energetic and contemporary style, portrays remarkable Muslim women from the birth of Islam through the 19th century.  Intended to enlighten the non-Islamic community, the book fast became a popular “herstory” for young Muslim women.  The Scimitar and the Veil was followed in 2008 by an acclaimed anthology, The Veil: Women Writers on Its History, Lore, and Politics (University of California Press).

Heath is the founder of Seeds for Afghanistan and the Afghanistan Relief Organization Midwife Training and Infant Care Program, now International Midwife Assistance.  She is currently co-editing – with Dr. Ashraf Zahedi—a volume about the women of Afghanistan in the post-9/11 era, forthcoming from the University of California Press in 2010.

RSS Bookmark and Share
This search feature will enable you to find Muslim women alphabetically by their first names. Many Muslim names have alternative spellings once rendered into English so if you cannot find the name you are looking for, please try the general search tab where you can enter keywords of your choice.
A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z
This search feature will enable you to find Muslim women chronologically by the Common Era century. We are actively building the archive of Muslim women leaders from the past, as well as from today, and we would welcome your recommendations of women to feature. Please complete our “Recommend Muslim Women” form and check the site again in the near future as we actively expand this section of the portal with your suggestions.
This search feature will enable you to find Muslim women by their Country. We are actively building the archive of Muslim women leaders from the past, as well as from today, and we would welcome your recommendations of women to feature. Please complete our “Recommend Muslim Women” form and check the site again in the near future as we actively expand this section of the portal with your suggestions.
This search feature will enable you to find Muslim women leaders by entering the keyword(s) of your choice. If you cannot find a particular woman that you are looking for, please let us know by completing our “Recommend Muslim Women” form and check the site again in the near future as we actively expand this section of the portal with your suggestions.