For immediate release: MEDIA ADVISORY
Contact:
Ambreen Qureshi (+1-212-870-2552 x 6 or ambreen@asmasociety.org)
Rushda Majeed (+1-212-870-2552 x 2 or rushda@asmasociety.org)
International Women's Day:
WISE Celebrates the Legacy of Muslim Women!
The voices of Muslim women, and women of all backgrounds, are repeatedly silenced in today's headlines and within our accounts of history. Their achievements are often forgotten, or worse, never known. On International Women's Day, March 8, WISE remembers the legacy of Muslim women leaders of our past and present. Highlighted below are a few of the countless Muslim women that have shaped the world. To read more biographies, please visit: http://www.wisemuslimwomen.org/muslimwomen/.
 Anousheh Ansari
Born in pre-revolution Iran, Anousheh Ansari immigrated to the United States as a teenager. In 2006 Ansari became the first Muslim female in space. She is also the first person to contribute to a blog from space.
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 Khadijah bint Khuwaylid
Khadijah bint Khuwaylid, known as "Mother of the Believers", was the first convert to Islam and the devoted wife of Prophet Muhammad. As a wealthy businesswoman she hired Muhammad to work for her, and impressed with his honesty she proposed to him.
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 Nana Asma'u
Nana Asma'u, born in 1793, remains a model for African feminists today. Well versed/ fluent in several languages, Asma'u was reputed to be a leading scholar. She was also a poet and teacher.
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Nafis Sadik
Born in Jaunpur, India, Nafis Sadik was the first woman to head one of the United Nations major voluntarily-funded programs and has made significant contributions to improving the health of women and children.
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Fatima al-Fihri
Fatima al-Fihri is known for creating the oldest academic degree-granting university in existence today, the University of Qarawiyyin, in Morocco.
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 Ndeye Andujar
Ndeye Andujar is the co-founder and vice-president of Junta Islamica Catalana (Spain). In 2008 she was named director of www.webislam.com, the most important Islamic Web site in Spanish.
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Join the Movement! Sign the WISE Compact.
Sign the WISE Compact and join us in declaring that gender equality is an intrinsic part of the Islamic faith, that Muslim women as free agents are worthy of respect and dignity, and that we will embrace our collective and individual responsibility to promote equal rights for Muslim women.
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The Women's Islamic Initiative in Spirituality and Equality (WISE) is a program of the American Society for Muslim Advancement (ASMA) and the Cordoba Initiative (CI). ASMA aims to elevate the discourse on Islam and foster environments in which Muslims thrive through interfaith collaboration, youth and women's empowerment, and arts and cultural exchange. The Cordoba Initiative works to improve relations between the Muslim World and the West by offering innovative, viable, and sustainable solutions with concrete outcomes. The mission of WISE is to build a cohesive, global movement of Muslim women that will reclaim women's rights in Islam, enabling them to make dignified choices and fully participate in creating just and flourishing societies. |