Comments on: Circles of Women

By: Baraka

Baraka — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 14:28:42 +0000

Warm greetings of peace dear Maithri,

Thank you so much for your kind and generous words – you are a beautiful soul!

Warmly,
Baraka

By: Maithri

Maithri — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 08:58:47 +0000

My dear Sister Baraka,

I want you to write a book. I could read your writing all day long.

Thank you for these words kissed by your spirit,

My love to you,

Maithri

By: Baraka

Baraka — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 19:41:17 +0000

Salaams all: Anon: Thank you and ameen to your duas! Ladyperfection: Yes, it is an ancient ritual - perhaps that's what makes it so comforting on some level. Koonj: True, the choices never are limitless; all we can do is to make the best of what we've been given. Raihana is lucky to have such beautiful, wise, and strong shoulders to climb up on masha-Allah. Yasmine: i am like this both in spite of and BECAUSE of the people behind me. Amen, sister. With partnership, balance and compassion I too hope we can shift the paradigm. Umm Farouq: You're welcome my dear, glad it transported you for that moment. Sha: Thank you and I'm glad you enjoyed parts of it. I dont like the feminist streak the article has though. Your experience was different from mine. For me, honoring the women in my family doesn't automatically result in blaming the men. The situation is more complex. Ibrahim: Thank you. I hadn't been back to Pakistan for two years at that time, so my time there was spent discovering a country both new and familiar. ABD: I really don't see this as a blame/victim piece so I'm surprised that it reads that way to you and Sha, but I'll take that into consideration. This is what I feel the piece is about: They were a circle of women telling us stories about what it meant to be a woman in that day and age – of the boundaries, happiness, secrets and sadness inherent to womanhood. I don't see the women in my clan as victims, but sometimes their womanhood weighs heavily upon them. Basil: Thank you! MMW: Thank you and please do, that would be lovely! Saifuddin: Walaykum asalaam and thank you for the reminder that provoking differing opinions can be a good thing. Saffiyah: I'm so glad you liked it - and have a beautiful day! Thank you all for your comments! Warmly, Baraka

By: Safiyyah

Safiyyah — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 16:27:25 +0000

Salaams Sister Baraka:

Very beautiful and moving, Masha Allah. I also love the photograph.

Especially, I like this line:

“The lines of sanitation and class get very blurry here at times – just as they do in the grave.”

Have a nice day, dear!
Love and Salaams/Safiyyah

By: Saifuddin

Saifuddin — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 15:23:38 +0000

BismillaharRahmanirRahim

as-salaamu ‘alaikum. Very good writing, mashaAllah! It evokes a number of feelings, agreements, disagreements and affinities, all a sign of good writing.

-Saifuddin

By: Muslimah Media Watch

Muslimah Media Watch — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 05:51:57 +0000

This is beautiful, mashallah.
I hope you don’t mind if we link to it on Friday.

By: Basil

Basil — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 05:28:34 +0000

This is a beautifully written piece, I feel as though I am present in the moment throughout its entirety.

By: ABD

ABD — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 23:13:17 +0000

BARAKA, there is so much here to reflect on. the shift from "politics, international affairs and other (predominantly) male pursuits" to the "secret, interior life of women" is refreshing. and i'm tempted to throw in my support for sha on the question of blame (would these women call themselves victims?). but i know i have limited cred as a guy, so i won't pursue the point any further. Ibrahim, this is now your second anthology idea (the first was on what it means to be a moderate muslim). you can take the man out of publishing but you can't take publishing out of the man...

By: Ibrahim A.

Ibrahim A. — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 22:30:57 +0000

I can’t suppress the publisher in me (though I’m not in the game now), but I can see an excellent piece like this in an anthology of travel essays (not travelogues), but folks finding meaning when on the move or during. Movement and meaning work well together.

By: sha

sha — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 18:55:02 +0000

Thank you!!It was great mashallah.I had a similar childhood sans the Mamu.I dont like the feminist streak the article has though.Yes some of my male cousins did place some restrictions on us but even they had similar restrictions placed on them.I couldnt play with them any more and I was reminded of it not by a man but by a woman.I was reminded of “sharam” and “haya” by the womenfolk not by the men.The men sometimes get a bit too much blame