I thought I would put this here, too, instead of just Instagram.
Because sometimes I feel like I have important things to say that are better expressed in words. I forget that the photos & work that I do means more to me than I sometimes explain. To me my work is a silent protest:
Yes I am a woman, no I will not remain hidden.
Yes I am public, no I am not immodest.
Yes the way I cover is not typical, no it does not make me any less of a Muslim.
I believe wholeheartedly in the beauty and importance of marriage. It does not define a woman, but it does give a woman an extra foundation to rely on. Do not settle. Do not make yourself smaller to fit into a box that cannot hold your greatness. We as women are still fighting for our place in this world. It was not long ago that we were treated purely like objects for mens convenience…many of our parents & grandparents were alive in a time women were meant to be meek. Small. Unheard. Unseen.
Do not take for granted the time we live in now. But do not be fooled that we as women have reached the equality we have fought so hard for. Women perpetuate our inequality. The same women who chastise me for being a working mother who leaves my son with his father, internalizing misogyny, acting as if men have no responsibility themselves for a child they helped create.
Change the world by raising better men and stronger women, and becoming a partner to a man who is strong enough to challenge status quo alongside you. THAT will be our way forward. Our way out of this harem mentality my own region is guilty of coveting.
