On March 27, we honor Muslim women as part of Women’s History Month. Amani AI-Khatahtbeh created Muslim Women’s Day on March 27, 2017, to celebrate, honor, and amplify the voices of Muslim women. Seven years later, Muslim Women’s Day is still going strong, creating space for Muslim women worldwide.
Muslim Women’s Day began with only an idea when 17-year-old AI-Khatahtbeh created the website MuslimGirl.com to create a safe space for young Muslim women. AI-Khatahtbeh openly speaks about her identity issues growing up in America and how moving back to her father’s homeland of Jordan at 13 years old changed her life. After moving to Jordan, AI-Khatahtbeh grew to embrace her heritage and Muslim identity, inspiring her drive to change the narrative and misrepresentation of Muslim women in the news. This year, I’ve rounded up a few ways you can support and help celebrate Muslim women.
- Read books by Muslim women authors.
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Reading stories written by Muslim women is a great way to become more educated about Muslim women. Some notable Muslim women authors with powerful voices are Malala Yousafzai, Hena Khan, and Na’ima B. Robert. These women have created literature, from children’s books to non-fiction, that speaks to Muslim women’s experiences worldwide.
- Listen to Muslim women artists.
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According to Vogue Arabia, the history of Muslim women emcees began with Miss Undastood. For almost two decades, Miss Undastood has been known as the sound of NYC’s Islamic underground rap scene. With the help of her work, today there are artists like Neelam Hakeem, who has gained an Instagram following of 457k, and the attention of cultural icons like Will Smith and Erykah Badu. Hakeem’s song “We got em like” has 115k views on Youtube and was featured on her Anomalous EP, which dropped last year. In the music world, Muslim women are making an impact. Aint Afraid, Mona Haydar, Boshia Rae-Jean, and Yuna are among the Muslim women artists making strides that you should keep on your radar.
- Repost and share content under #MuslimWomensDay.
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One of the easiest ways to celebrate Muslim women is to share educational content from and/or about Muslim women. Utilizing social media as a place to create space for Muslim women is effective within our digital world, though it’s not the only way you should be showing your support. It can help amplify the voices of the Muslim women within our communities. A few Muslim women activists doing great work that you should follow are @malihaness, @blairimani, @yassmin_a, and @lsarsour.
- Find Muslim women’s Day celebration events in your area or online.
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This year to honor Muslim Women’s Day, Muslim Girl is teaming up with Kode with Klossy to encourage young women to learn about fields in tech. This opportunity is a free two-week virtual and in-person coding camp. Another great way to find events for Muslim Women’s Day is to follow accounts like @ladiesoflightevents on Instagram, which hosts many events throughout the year for Muslim women by Muslim women.
- Support Muslim women in politics.
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The 2022 midterms were iconic for Muslim women’s representation. According to 19thnews, there were a record-breaking 153 Muslim candidates on the general ballot that election year. Of the Muslim candidates, 61% of Muslim women won, including Nabeela Syed, who is a part of Gen Z. Muslim women are making their voices heard in local government, too, like Bushra Amiwala, the first Gen Z woman to hold public office in the United States. By making a contribution to their campaigns, sharing their posts online, and voting, you can show support for them.
- Shop Muslim-woman-owned businesses.
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What better way to show support to a community than to buy from their business? Muslim Girl has your back with a list of 21 Muslim-owned companies to shop from this Muslim Women’s Day. Let this be your sign to have a guilt-free shopping spree!
- Follow Muslim women content creators.
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Amplifying the voices of Muslim women starts by listening to them. This Muslim Women’s Day, take some time to follow Muslim women creators to understand their different journeys and walks of life. There are so many Muslim TikTokers and Muslim beauty bloggers and makeup artists who make great content that you should be following and keeping up with.
Your celebration of Muslim Women’s Day is ready to go! Let this be a reminder to practice support for Muslim women all year round, not just today.