She Speaks: Academic Muslimahs

Ramadan Mubarak!!! This episode is a re-airing of previously aired Ramadan & Eid ul Fitr special. I talked to Sana Rizvi about fasting within neoliberal academia, periods, and Ramzan memories. I talked to Nausheen Pasha about her journey to loving Ramadan, to Melinda González about true spirit of fasting and being mindful, and with Rose Deighton about appreciating the simplicity of Ramadan during times of COVID. Finally, I talk...

Dr. Elora Shehabuddin is Professor of Transnational Asian Studies and Core Faculty in the Center for the Study of Women, Gender, and Sexuality. She is the author of Sisters in the Mirror: A History of Muslim Women and the Global Politics of Feminism. Today we talk about the stories of feminist struggles that provide a more nuanced picture, the conversation between Western feminists and Global South or Transnational feminists, and w...

Linda Hyökki is a PhD Candidate in Civilization Studies at Ibn Haldun University, Istanbul. In this episode, we talk about religious righteousness, whiteness, anti-Muslim and anti-immigrant sentiment in Finland, and so much more. Hyökki PhD thesis and broader research interest focus on Islamophobia and convert Muslims. She has done fieldwork interviews with converts from Finland, her native country, exploring questions of whiteness...

An awesome interview with Sara Abdalla who is making art accessible and relatable to those who are traditionally excluded from the art world. We also talk about why immigrant parents might steer their kids away from artistic careers, why that is harmful, and how art can portray the depth of all our lives.

Sara Abdalla Director of design brand Cape Cairo Collective and Founder of Creative Visionaries studio. She is a multidisciplina...

Aminah Beverly McCloud Al Deen is a Professor Emeritus  of Religious Studies and Director of Islamic World Studies program at DePaul University. She is one of the most eminent scholars on Islam in America and her areas of expertise include Islam in America, Muslim women, Islamic studies and the history, geography, politics, religion and philosophy of Islam. We talk about Islam in America, anti-Black racism within Muslim Americ...

This episode features Dr. Sana Rizvi who is a Senior lecturer in Education and Early Childhood studies at Liverpool John Moores University. She talks about her fresh off the press book, Undoing Whiteness in Disability Studies: The Special Education System and British South Asian Mothers that just came out with Palgrave Macmillan. In this podcast, Sana explores the intersections of motherhood, Muslim cultures, disability, and educat...

This episode is a repeat from May 2021, featuring Dr. Saba Fatima. In this episode, she talks with Shannon Strom about being a woman of color in academia, being a STEM student in a patriarchal environment, performing 'professional' forms of femininity, how we have to over-perform just to clear the bar, what is standpoint theory & intersectionality, and about the future of gender relations and academia. 

You can learn more ...

This episode features an excellent conversation on the academic job market and alt-ac jobs with Dr. Fatemeh Mardi. Dr. Mardi has her bachelors and masters from Tehran, Iran, and her PhD in instructional technology from University of Missouri St. Louis, MO. She is currently working with Office of eLearning at University of Missouri System as an Instructional Designer. Among other things, Dr. Mardi talks about the toll on our mental ...

This episode features Dr. Julie Prior, who has a PhD in early modern and eighteenth-century drama from the University of Toronto. She is currently an Assistant Professor of English at Oklahoma Panhandle State University. Her research explores adaptations of Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew, and is concerned with illuminating production history and intertextual resonances that are activated by performance. Here she talks about ...

This episode is in Urdu & English. This conversation is prompted by the recent events in Pakistan, including the Noor Muqaddam case, Quratulain Baloch case, and the victim from Mohra village (name not yet released). We also talk about how patriarchy functions to attempt to shame women instead of bringing the perpetrator to justice, and why women don’t speak up about their experiences. Last, but not least, we talk about the ways...

This episode features Dr. Maha Nasaar is an Associate Professor in the School of Middle Eastern and North African Studies at the University of Arizona. Today, we talk a little about history of Falestine or Palestine, the ongoing nakba or catastrophe, anti-Semitism as it relates to Palestinian liberation movements, Hamas, and issues of human rights.

Dr. Nassar specializes in Arab cultural and intellectual history with a focus on Pal...

This episode features me, Saba Fatima! In this episode, I talk with Shannon Strom about being a woman of color in academia, being a STEM student in a patriarchal environment, performing 'professional' forms of femininity, how we have to over-perform just to clear the bar, what is standpoint theory & intersectionality, and about the future of gender relations and academia. You can learn more about me at: https://sites.google.com...

This episode is a re-airing of last year's Ramadan & Eid ul Fitr special. I talked to Sana Rizvi about fasting within neoliberal academia, periods, and Ramzan memories. I talked to Nausheen Pasha about her journey to loving Ramadan, to Melinda González about true spirit of fasting and being mindful, and with Rose Deighton about appreciating the simplicity of Ramadan during times of COVID. Finally, I talked to Lamiyah Bahrainwal...

This episode features Dr. Banafsheh Madaninejad. Dr. Madaninejad is an anti-racism and gender educator and equity strategist. She has founded Sisters in Leadership Training (https://www.sistersinleadershiptraining.com) and I-AMM (https://i-amm.org/) an anti-racist organization dedicated to Interconnecting Arabs, Muslims and Middle Easterners. Here, she talks about her experience of coming to the US for college, coding for NASA, swi...

This episode features Dr. Amani Hassani who is the 2020 Sociological Review Fellow at Keele University in England. She talks about facing harsh scrutiny for her public scholarship, and about fighting against Islamophobia and racism against Muslims in Denmark. Check out her latest contribution to the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI). The "European Islamophobia Report 2020" will come out soon at www.islamopho...

Dr. Elora Halim Chowdhury is a Professor in the Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Department and the Director of Human Rights Program at University of Massachusetts Boston. Her most recent book is an edited collection with Dr. Esha Niyogi De, titled South Asian Filmscapes: Transregional Encounters (2020). Dr. Chowdhury talks about her journey into academia, the Bangladeshi Liberation War, its impact on national identity, and a...

Dr. Shehnaz Haqqani is an Assistant Professor of Religion at Mercer University and specializes in Islam, with a focus on gender and sexuality.

She earned her Ph.D. in Islamic Studies at the University of Texas at Austin. She is also the co-founder of Feminist Islamic Troublemakers of North America: FITNA and the force behind the YouTube channel called What the Patriarchy?!

FITNA - Feminist Islamic Troublemakers of North America Gro...