By Sara Elghobashy
February 16, 2010
There are two types of Muslim women that appear often in the news: the oppressed Muslim woman and the Muslim woman who is defying the stereotype. That is not to say that there aren’t other types of women that appear in the media in association with stories about Islam (we can’t forget the sexy/exotic Muslim woman and the I-hate-Islam-and-am-no-longer-Muslim-but-please-use-me-as-a-legitimate-source-on-the-religion woman), but the news seems to harp on the oppressed and wow-look-at-her notes.
Lately, I’ve noticed several stories about women who are defying the stereotype and while I hate that these women are represented as anomalies in Muslim culture (you never read a “Christian Woman Becomes Mechanic” headline), I’d take these stories over the alternative any day.
Pakistan’s Female Squash Player
Nineteen-year-old Maria Toor Pakay grew up in South Waziristan, Pakistan. At the age of 10, she competed in weight-lifting competitions as a boy with the fake name Changez Khan, going as far as winning the championship. Her father assisted her in passion to pursue sports, in particular squash, after a meeting with former world squash champion Jansher Khan. In 2004, she became Pakistan’s top female squash player and began climbing the world ranks, where she currently stands at number 85.
Emirate’s First Female Film Producer
Nayla Al Khaja is the UAE’s first female producer and she is making her debut with a punch, tackling subjects like pedophilia and secret teen dating in her movies. She’s the founder of Dubai-based D-Seven Motion Pictures and is currently working on a TV show, a film about a young couple on a honeymoon and a documentary about the ruling family. And as an added aspiration, Al Khaja is currently trying to develop a talk show that will make her the Middle Eastern Oprah.
First UAE Female Mechanic
Mariam Darwish is one of the only females in the male-dominated profession of auto repair. After taking a 6-month-course, Darwish began working in an auto shop. Though she faced some resistance at first, she has now developed a client base that asks for her by name.
Though these stories tend to have some aspect of “Muslim men don’t want them to do this,” (ahem...not all Muslim men are patriarchal/misogynistic/controlling/backwards jerks, journalists!) it’s still nice to see positive portrayals of Muslim women out there. We have to admit they’re better than the stories we’re used to, right?
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