Okay folks, so I am trying something new. Inspired by Alya Mooro’s recommendations in her newsletter The Greater Conversation, and Zeba Talkhani’s recommendations in her newsletter, I thought why don’t I do a monthly round-up of my reading/watching/listening recommendations, rather than lumping them all into my one newsletter? I’ll do a second newsletter each month that is purely one of my opinion pieces or personal essays.
Please drop me a comment if you enjoy this!
What I’ve been working on…
It’s voting day tomorrow in the UK! This is a big deal because it’s the General Election and we plan on voting the Conservatives OUT. However, we aren’t voting Labour due to their appalling stance on Gaza. For media outlet hyphen, I spent the month of June investigating how in Batley and Dewsbury - one of the country’s highest impact areas when it comes to Muslims voting - there could be a split in the Muslim vote due to Labour tactically bringing in a Muslim, Asian pro-Palestine candidate. Read my in-depth report here.
And if you want to read more about why I, as a British Muslim voter, am not voting Labour, you can read my recent op-ed in TRT World: Keir Starmer does not care about the Muslim vote - and he’s lost mine.
One more general elections piece! I interviewed the inspiring British Palestinian human rights activist Leanne Mohamad, who is running as an independent parliamentary candidate for Ilford North in London, for The New Arab. Read my feature on her campaign here.
For Stylist I wrote about the power of walking in alleviating maternal mental health symptoms, based on my experience with postnatal anxiety and postnatal depression. The article is for subscribers-only, but as a subscriber myself, the monthly £3.99 is well worth the brilliant articles I get access to. Read my piece here.
What I’ve been reading…
I am 3/4 through reading my wonderful friend Tawseef Khan, author of Muslim, Actually ‘s first novel, Determination and I’m hooked! Determination came out last month, and this book gives a real inside look into England’s cruel asylum system through a cast of beautifully crafted characters. I love that the novel has multiple POVs and its protagonist is British Muslim Asian immigration lawyer Jamila Shah. Tawseef has written his female characters really well (I love a male author who can do that!)
You will feel every ounce of each character’s pains, frustrations and triumphs. I also love that it’s set in Manchester, my second favourite city after London, and that I recognise the places he mentions. Available directly from his publishers, Waterstones, Blackwells, Amazon, Pages of Hackney and a number of independent bookshops. Ask your bookseller to order it in if you can’t find it!
This is a shocking but vital read on the prevalence of in-law abuse in British Asian communities, by my amazing friend Alia Waheed, for hyphen. Read ‘I had to eat my mother-in-law’s leftovers:’ the hidden stories of in-law abuse.
I got a stark reminder that I too am entering my aunty era thanks to the brilliant Yassmin Abdel-Magied in her first column for hyphen, I’m in my aunty era, blown away by the galloping of time.
Excellent op-ed from Nadeine Asbali in The New Arab on how Muslim women as usual are politicised as victims or villains for political gains, this time in the run-up to the UK General Elections. Read Bullying Muslim women has become a cheap shot in the UK election.
And if you need further convincing to put Determination in your book baskets, read Tawseef Khan’s piece for hyphen on the inspiration behind/purpose of his novel, My debut novel may not change the world, but it may help to change minds.
What I’ve been watching…
I don’t really listen to modern hip-hop, I’m more of a fan of ‘90s-’00s hip-hop and R’n’B artists like Missy Elliot, TLC and Aaliyah, but hear me out, Netflix documentary series Ladies First: A Story of Women in Hip-Hop, is one of the most inspiring series I’ve watched in months!
The four-episode series charts the HUGE role Black women in North America played in the creation of hip-hop, and how they are overlooked and little credit is paid to them. You get to hear from some of the very first female pioneers not just in female hip-hop, but all hip-hop period, such as Roxanne Shante, MC Lyte, Queen Latifah and Sha-Rock, as well as more recent artists.
There is a lot in their stories to do with feminism, misogyny and breaking barriers in society. Also, interestingly, their economic struggles as music artists in the recording industry don’t differ very much from our struggles as writers in the publishing industry.
Finally, if you want to do a little something to help…
I have teamed up with my Palestine activist friend Freya Greenhill to facilitate a crowdfunding campaign for single mother of 4, Samah Al Nakhala, who is displaced with her children in Gaza. She is the sole breadwinner and desperately needs money to buy them food (food prices are absolutely unbelievable due to food and aid scarcity) and in the long term, funds to evacuate to safety once the border at Rafah re-opens. It costs $5,000 per person to be evacuated by Egyptian brokers over the border. Please can we ask for a little favour - to donate the cost of a coffee and share our fundraiser with your friends, family and contacts? Thank you. Click here to visit our fundraiser.
Finally, if you enjoy my writing, (how I frank I am and my determination to write and speak uncomfortable truths), you can support me by buying my book, Hijab and Red Lipstick, which is based on my life. Thank you!