Farewell to a Football Love Affair in Iran
Sara Mokhavat's first passion was for football and the Persepolis team, but being female in Iran put the kibosh on that.
Essays
Morocco’s Ultras, the State and the Soccer War
Socio-cultural anthropologist Aomar Boum meditates on the rebel football phenomenon of Morocco's ultras.
Sudden Journeys: Israel’s Intimate Separations—Part 2
In this, the second of a three-part travel series on Israel/Palestine, Jenine Abboushi continues her dystopic journey.
Celebrating Mawlid An-Nabaoui with Stambeli Trance in Tunis
Shreya Parikh joins an authentic ritual for the birth of the Prophet in her Tunis medina.
What the Iran Protests Mean for Us—Kamin Mohammadi
British-Iranian writer Kamin Mohammadi is a keen observer of the women-led movement that is roiling Iran after the death of Mahsa Amini.
Defiance—an essay from Sara Mokhavat
When an oppressive, insulting cleric makes life unbearable at a university campus in Tehran, students rebel. Pandemonium ensues.
The Postcard Women’s Imaginarium: Decolonizing the Western Gaze
Salma Ahmad Caller reflects on curating a unique museum-quality exhibition of postcards and objects orientalizing women
Yemen’s Feminist Trailblazer Flees Death Threats for a New Life in the UK
Facing death threats from the Houthis, minister of education Nadia Al-Sakkaf, editor in chief of the Yemen Times, flees Yemen.
Zoulikha, Forgotten Freedom Fighter of the Algerian War
Fouad Mami meditates on a nearly forgotten heroine of Algeria's war for independence, who was memorialzied in an Assia Djebar novel.
Nawal El-Saadawi, a Heroine in Prison
Ibrahim Fawzy remembers the late, great Egyptian feminist author, doctor and activist Nawal El-Saadawi.
Sudden Journeys: Israel’s Intimate Separations—Part 1
In a new three-part travel series on Israel/Palestine, Jenine Abboushi lays bare the surveillance state.
Translating Walter Benjamin on Berlin, a German-Arabic Journey
Ahmed Farouk, the Arabic translator of Günter Grass, W. G. Sebald and Rosa Luxemburg, among others, struggles with Walter Benjamin.
My Berlin Triptych: On Museums and Restitution
Filmmaker and historian Viola Shafik muses on German art, colonialism and restitution in Berlin.
The Intruders and the City
Rasha Abbas, a Syrian writer who ventures into the surreal, examines her conflicted relationship with Berlin.
Berlin Gastronomical: A Feast of Flavors
Author and literature professor Randa Aboubakr, who travels back and forth from Cairo to Berlin, explores the city's Arab offerings.