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.

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Shelina Zahra Janmohamed

“I should make two statements here: first, that I am an advocate for Muslim women and the changes that they want to make to traditional structures within Muslim communities, from within the faith. I believe Islam has a blueprint that offers liberation for both genders. Second, whilst there are some great changes afoot, an unspeakably huge amount still needs to be done in order to redress the oppression that Muslim women face from all sides.”

photo of Shelina Zahra Janmohamed Photo courtesy of Shelina Janmohamed.

Known For: Author of “Love in a Headscarf”
Country: United Kingdom

About

An Oxford graduate who grew up in North London, Shelina Zahra Janmohamed is a writer with many credits to her name, particularly as the author of Love in a Headscarf a memoir that concerns her life as a Muslim woman in England. Janmohamed has also written articles for British publications like The Times, The Guardian, The National, The Muslim News,  and Emel Magazine. Her articles tend to focus on, like her other writing, Islam and current affairs, particularly Muslim women in the West.

Janmohamed is also behind Spirit21, an award-winning online blog where she explores the relationship between Muslim men, women, culture, and society.

Love in a Headscarf provides a humorous take on growing up a Muslim woman in England, including an amusing account of the process of proposals. She wrote the book in response to the numerous works concerning dejected Muslim women and her work crosses genres of memoir and “chick lit” to create a frothy but ultimately relevant work. Through her work, Janmohamed wishes to nudge Islamic culture away from the stigma that has coalesced around it, while offering insight into the daily lives of Muslim women in England.

Janmohamed was named one of the 100 most influential women in the United Kingdom.

Sources

“Interview with Shelina Zahra Janmohamed on her memoir of a Muslim woman’s search for love.”

More Information

The Guardian: Shelina Zahra Janmohamed

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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.
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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.