The Muslim Women You Probably Weren't Taught About In School

They say look to history for real heroes, but what if the history you were taught didn't include anyone that looked like you. What if you struggled to resonate or take inspiration from the figures you were taught about because their story, upbringing and roots were so far from yours.

By Zeynab Mohamed

UK

I remember reading about my first female Muslim historical figure back in 1999 and it wasn’t in school, instead it was in my grandparents garden.

It's a day I'll never forget. The adults were doing what adults typically do - sitting around and catching up on family gossip - and the children, well, we had exhausted ourselves with play.

After beating my siblings and cousins to a game of hide and seek , I picked up an old book with no intention of actually reading it.

It was just one of those things you did around relatives so you could look as though you deeply cared about academia even if all you wanted to do was run around and make as much noise as possible.

But much to my surprise, I was instantly drawn to the hijabi on the front cover of the book titled 'Middle Eastern Muslim Women Speak'. It left me curious. The book itself spoke on the history of muslim women, like me, and their importance.

Surprised, and instantly engrossed, I read the pages of the book each time with a growing hunger, making my way through each letter, each word and each sentence greedily to complete the image in my head.

I was nine years-old when I came across this tale and since then the book changed my way of seeing the world and place in it. Over the course the years, I’ve read it on good days for inspiration and on bad days for reassurance.

In a world where all the heroes are white, there is comfort and motivation in seeing the rich and textured stories of the people that look like you.

A woman, like me, and a Muslim, like me, a hunger I didn’t even know existed was satiated. I saw myself, I saw people like me, and we were the heroes of the tale.

You see, history is important, not only is a script for the past event and figures, it’s a part of you, a definition and a marker of who you are and where you come from.

But what happens when the history of your ancestors is constantly portrayed as inferior to their white counterparts or in the case of female history minimised to the point of non-existence? You’re deprived of the struggle and triumphs that complete you.

History through the lens of the white male, preached in the West, may report the history of Muslim women as one struggle and victims of oppression, and European saviours.

Though it doesn’t erase the reality, the cherry-picking of historical narratives and tunnelled perspective through which it is reported, acts as a tool, to continue the status quo, of the inferior and superior class. Albert Maysles, filmmaker and cinematographer, said it well when he said ‘tyranny is the deliberate removal of nuance’.

Muslim women have conquered, reigned and fought for change, have led rich and complex lives for centuries. If you look beyond the pages of the white glazed history, you’ll find a wealth of Muslim women, who were in fact doing the saving.

Nānā Asmā’u (1793-1864)

The daughter of Shehu Usmān dan Fodīo, a jurist, reformer, and the founder of the Sokoto caliphate. Nānā Asmā’u was a significant poet, historian, educator, and religious scholar, who played a central role in the political, cultural and intellectual developments in West Africa after her father’s death. She became one of the most influential women in West Africa in the 19th Century.

Nānā Asmā’u, was dedicated to the education of Muslim women, believing that knowledge was the key to the development of a society. She established the first major system of schools and educational institutions of learning throughout the Sokoto caliphate. She advocated for the participation of women in society and campaigned for the empowerment and education of women throughout her life.

Huda Sh’arawi (23 June 1879 – 12 December 1947)

Huda Sha’arawi was an Egyptian feminist and nationalist who established numerous organizations dedicated to women’s rights.

She organised lectures to educate women on rights, fought to raise the minimum age of marriage, and championed the right for girls to be educated to a higher level.

She was hailed as the founder of the women’s movement in Egypt and one of the founding presidents of the Arab Feminist Union in 1945. She fought against the British, for Egyptian independence from Britain in the Egyptian Revolution of 1919.

Al-Malika al-Ḥurra Arwa al-Sulayhi (1048 -1138)

From 1067 to 1138, Queen Arwa ruled as the queen of Yemen in her own right. During her long reign, she led several construction projects including the building of roads and bridges and contributed to the improvement of Yemen’s infrastructure, such as setting up schools and welfare centres.

Queen Arwa was given the highest rank in the Yemeni dawah, that of Hujjat, by Imām Al-Mustansir Billah in 1084. She was the first woman, to receive this status in the history of Islam.

Malahayati of Aceh (1550-1615)

Malahayati was the first female admiral in the world. She was a notable military and political figure in the Sultanate of Aceh during the 16th century. She was appointed as a leading admiral and commanded fleets during the reign of Sultan Alauddin Mansur Sya (r. 987–994/1579–1586) and played an important role in resisting Dutch and Portuguese attacks against Aceh.

She is remembered in post-colonial Indonesian history as a heroic admiral, who led the early resistance against Dutch colonialism in SouthEast Asia.

Halide Edib Adıvar (1883 - 1964)

Known as the founding mother of modern Turkish literature, Halide Salih, explored the status of Turkish women, and their role in Turkish independence, in her novels.

She was known for creating strong, independent female characters who were triumphant against their oppressors. She is well known for her novel Handan (“Family”), about the problems of an educated woman.

As well as championing women’s rights through her writing, she played an active role in fighting for the rights of women in Turkey, even risking her own life.