“Another female star of the pre-modern age was “Mulla Fatemeh” Naghai, a performer of music and poetry for the Zand dynasty court in Shiraz during the 1700s. This woman gave public concerts outside the Vakil bazaar, playing the lute, harp, tambourine, and reed pipe, and she could recite over 20,000 verses of classical or contemporary poetry from memory. She was an outspoken critic of clerical hypocrisy and of bigotry in general, demanding justice for the powerless both in the court and on stage.”
Source: Mother Persia: Women in Iran's History
“The feminist problem must be solved, and fairly soon, before the confidence and courage which women got during the war and during the few years of prosperity immediately after it are broken down and wasted. It is, I think, up to the community, if it really wants to grow into a whole, straight, healthy entity, to fit, not women to the jobs - by pruning and forcing women out of their natural way of life - but the jobs to the women.”
“In recent years, numerous Islamic scholars have proposed a re-definition of zina (or forbidden, immoral sex). They have argued that sex should regarded as zina not when it is unauthorized (as in consensual sex between unmarried partners), but when it is forced (as in rape).”
Source: Mother Persia: Women in Iran's History
“Women are hyper-visible; their social value is heavily dependent upon their physical appearance and beauty.”
Source: Covered in Ink: Tattoos, Women and the Politics of the Body
“When women consciously reject beauty culture, it can be liberating. Women express that they are reclaiming their bodies and developing a heightened self-confidence. Becoming tattooed often makes women feel "closer in line with their own self-image.”
Source: Covered in Ink: Tattoos, Women and the Politics of the Body
“they told us to sit still
to cross our legs
like pretty decorations
never to run too fast
or dream too loud
but we are more
than quiet artifacts”
Source: Rootless
“i drink life
in big gulps
spill it down my chin
and never ask for a napkin
i am raw and hungry
unafraid of my own desire”
Source: Rootless
“Shahab Ahmed argued for an “exploratory” rather than a “restrictive” view of Islamic principles, where ancient teachings are taken like road signs indicating directions toward greater justice, rather than stop signs that impose eternal limits on social development.”
Source: Mother Persia: Women in Iran's History
“When people take advantage of our generosity, even when we know they’re wrong, their words still sink in a bit. Perhaps it strengthens the narrative from when we were young, that something was wrong with us—thinking it was our fault when clearly it wasn’t, and perhaps even that we’re responsible for the misbehavior of others.
If you were blamed for your own abuse as a kid, or no one ever believed you, these issues can resurface in your adult relationships, and your businesses are not immune.”
Source: Origin: Music, Art, Yoga & Consciousness
“Why We Hide
We hide from being misunderstood. From being criticized. From being attacked online. But most of all, from being blamed for what happened to us.
The shame and the fear make us think our invisibility will protect us.”
Source: Origin: Music, Art, Yoga & Consciousness