Today Is The First Muslim Women's Day

Monday, March 27, marks the first Muslim Women’s Day. Coming at the tail end of Women’s History Month, today is an opportunity to celebrate Muslim women’s achievements and amplify their voices. It’s important that feminists recognize Muslim Women’s Day, and take the time to celebrate and learn about the lives of Muslim women in the United States and abroad. To be a feminist is to support equal rights and opportunities for all women — and that very much includes the hundreds of millions of Muslim women living all over the world.

To celebrate the first Muslim Women’s Day, MuslimGirl.com, a website intended to “kickstart an open honest dialogue about Islam in today’s society,” has teamed up with dozens of websites and social media outlets to discuss the experiences and accomplishments of Muslim women. As MuslimGirl Editor-in-Chief Amani Al-Khatahtbeh points out, Muslim Women’s Day is especially timely given the current political climate. “There are so many conversations unfolding around us right now about the women’s movement and the Muslim ban, and Muslim women are rarely given the space to be heard above the noise,” Al-Khatahtbeh told The Huffington Post. “This also comes at a time when Muslim women have become the most visible targets of anti-Muslim bigotry.”

The issues that Muslim women face — including Islamophobia and xenophobia — are feminist issues. Feminism doesn’t work without intersectionality — without recognizing the ways that different axes of identity, from race to religion to sexual orientation, shape women’s experiences in unique ways. Muslim Women’s Day is an opportunity for feminists of every stripe to leave behind assumptions and listen to what Muslim women have to say about their own experiences. It’s also a day to recognize that, just as not all women are the same, the term “Muslim woman” does not describe a single, monolithic identity. It’s a label that encompasses millions of women with diverse histories and viewpoints.

Organizers have suggested three ways that you can get involved in Muslim Women’s Day: Amplify Muslim women’s voices on social media; read and share stories by and about Muslim women; and show your support on social media by tagging messages of solidarity with the hashtag #muslimwomensday.

To celebrate the day, MuslimGirl is hosting a number of Facebook Live events with outlets like NYLON, TeenVogue, and Refinery 29. Other partners, including social media platforms like Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat, along with websites like MTV and the Huffington Post, are also getting in on the action. You can find out more about the Muslim Women’s Day schedule of events on the MuslimGirl website.