Aishah Schwartz, an American Muslim revert to Islam since April 2002, is founder and director of the 2006-established Washington, D.C.-based Muslimah Writers Alliance (MWA) and a retired 17-year litigation legal assistant. She is also a published freelance non-fiction writer, journalist and internationally renowned human rights activist with a focus on the rights of Muslim women and the plight of Palestinian people affected by Israeli’s embargo on Gaza. As a writing activist Ms. Schwartz focuses on civil and human rights issues within the Muslim community at-large, particularly those adversely affecting Muslim women. Ms. Schwartz’s writing, primarily autobiographical, generally focuses on countering misconceptions about Islam and her own life as a Muslim. She eventually became a featured writer for Naseeb Vibes, one of the world’s largest online Muslim magazines and social communities. Ms. Schwartz’s articles are also regularly published at The American Muslim (TAM), an online published magazine.
Dressed as the Statue of Liberty, Ms. Schwartz addressed French President Jacques Chirac in front of the Embassy of France in Washington, D.C. as hundreds gathered on January 17, 2004 in protest of an impending law prohibiting Muslim women from wearing the hijab, a head covering. Through MWA her activism received international recognition in 2006 after a successful campaign to avert removal of a prayer space in view of the Kabba designated for women in the courtyard of Makkah’s Grand Mosque. The campaign included a website, online petition, poster declaring “We Have A Right to Pray in This Space!”, and press release that was all directed to King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz, which was reported on by Egypt’s Al-Ahram Weekly. In September of 2009, Ms. Schwartz’s blog, “Sister Aishah’s Journey” was recognized by The Daily Reviewer, a social blog reader website which establishes the popularity of blogs based upon the number of times a user tags a feed, as one of the top 100 Muslim blogs. In 2010 through MWA, Ms. Schwartz continued her work to further advance women’s rights in guardianship laws in Saudi Arabia, and to provide educational opportunities to students in Gaza. Recently, Ms. Schwartz established the film production of a sequel to the Bridges Foundation project, “The Fog is Lifting”, titled “Jihad Against Terrorism”, also featuring Imam Suhaib Webb.
Ms. Mendly gained worldwide media coverage as the first Muslim to enter and win the Miss Nottingham Pageant as a British representative. The pageant has provided Sarah with an opportunity to shed light on the issues and perspectives of British Iraqis. She hoped her background will make her stand out from the rest of the contestants.
“I’m Iraqi, and there’s never been an Iraqi Muslim girl in any beauty contest based in England,” she said. “My mum and I want to show that there are attractive British Iraqi girls who are proud of being both British and Iraqi. I also felt it would be a good way to raise awareness of certain charities, such as Children of War and Breast Cancer Research. Winning would mean I could use the publicity for a good cause.”
Ms. Mendly also has a hidden talent for poetry. She started writing at the very early age of nine. She entered a national poetry competition at the age of 16, and became a finalist. She later went on to publish her writings. Aside from poetry, she also enjoys playing the piano, which she has done since the age of 8. Ms. Mendly has various hobbies and interests, among them, listed highly are her keen interest in following global politics.
Ms. Mendly is a biomedical science honors graduate who’s parents left Saddam Hussein’s tyranny and went on to reside first in Abu Dhabi and then on to the United Kingdom. Mendly was born in Abu Dhabi and moved to Britain when she was 18-months-old. Currently, she is studying towards obtaining her master’s degree in nursing in California.
Zaynab bint Ahmad ibn `Umar traveled widely in pursuit of hadiths and delivered lectures in Egypt as well as Madinah. She narrated to her students the collections of Ad-Darimi and `Abd ibn Humayd. Students traveled from far and wide to attend her discourses and lectures.
Nail Quadri Baloch is a conscience promoter and member of the Democratic woman association, Balochistan. She is an enthusiastic campaigner against gender discrimination in Balochistan. She strives to educate the public about women rights and social inequalities by doing lectures around the world. Besides being a women’s rights activist, she is a writer and poet.
Photo Attributed to
http://www.mangaloretoday.com/main/Udupi-Naela-Quadri-seeks-support-for-Independent-Balochistan-Movement.html
Mukhtaran Mai is now a leading example for women is her native country and around the world. Since becoming a survivor of gang-rape as an honor revenge, she has become an outspoken human rights and women’s rights activist. With her compensation money she took from the government of Pakistan opened two schools in her village, one for girls and another for boys. In August 2005, she was awarded the Fatima Jinnah Gold Medal for bravery and courage by the Pakistani Government and was named Women of The Year by Glamour Magazine, USA. In 2006, Time Magazine listed her in their issue on the 100 Most Influential People of the World, and she was also awarded the North-South Prize by the Council of Europe. She has written a book called In the Name of Honor: A Memoir and has been the focus of at least one movie. Mukhtaran has become a symbol of hope for many women in Pakistan.
Yasmine Allas has written three novels (Idil, a girl, 1998, The general with the six fingers, 2001 and The blue room, 2004). Yasmine has also written for the Volkskrant, one of the leading newspapers in the Netherlands. An edited version of her articles was published in 2006 as Ontheemd en toch thuis. (No home and yet a home) In this book, a tribute speech to the murdered Dutch filmmaker Theo van Gogh was added. Born in Somalia in 1967 she left the country on her own at a quite young age and arrived in 1987 in Amsterdam where she started her career as an actress with the theater group the Trust.
Besides writing, Yasmine Allas is an active member of the Marhaba Organization, a cultural and social foundation with Islamic roots, which aims building bridges between the different groups which are living in the Netherlands. Yasmine Allas appears regularly on radio and television in the Netherlands since 1998. Most recently in Paul Rosenmöller meets Yasmine Allas, 27th May 2006. This program was recorded in Hargeisha (North Somalia).
Senay Özdemir, In March 2004 the former tv-presenter and producer Senay Ozdemir launched SEN Magazine. Seven months later it was elected as the ‘best new magazine of 2004’ by de Volkskrant, the biggest newspaper of Holland. Two months later, Het Parool (another large newspaper) mentioned Senay Ozdemir as one of the most inspiring and of the 10 top women in the Netherlands.
SEN, the monthly magazine, Senay Ozdemir financed with her own money. It is stylish, positive-minded, a mainstream woman’s magazine with a typical touch. It is a magazine for the Mediterranean women in Holland. A better word than ‘foreigners’ or ‘immigrants’ when Senay defines her targetgroup: Mediterranean women with an Islamic background from the age of 20-35. Her main goal is: positiveness in this strange period of fear for each other. “I am tired of this collective sadness in the world. There is so many nice things we all share. I want to write about happiness, mixed-up love, show beautiful children of mixed marriages, show how beautiful Mediterranean women are, bring them a platform where they can be themselves, like any other women on earth: sensual, interesting but above all a woman with all her needs: love, care and tenderness.”
Fatima al-Juzdani, a great scholar from present-day Iran, read one of the great books of Hadith, Al-Mu’jam Al-Kabeer, with Abu Bakr b. Rida. This book had been published in thirty-seven volumes. After mastering the book, she then taught it to numerous times to others. There is currently no single scholar alive that has studied this book, or even part of it with a teacher. Furthermore, we do not have a single narration of this book except from women. She is amongst the early women Islamic scholars.
