The Price of Doing the Impossible Decades removed from Dr. Martin Luther King’s infamous appeal to the moral organs of America, the nation is still grappling with what his dream meant. It may very well be true that vast collections of Americans are still learning what it means to even dream. Dreaming in the land of opportunity is a prerequisite to survival. Without a self-induced slumber, and wondering on the grand possibilities of our lives, you can’t quite call yourself an American. This isn’t to say that in lands known and unknown people aren’t submerged in their own prophetic visions, but as it stands, we have told the world: in…

Islamic Relief held a panel discussion Thursday, Dec. 13, at the National Press Club, focusing on the need to take strong action on combating all forms gender-based violence. While both genders are impacted by violence, women are overwhelmingly the victims of  domestic violence, genital mutilation, early and forced marriages, and honor killings. On EFMs, a big myth exists that the practice is rare in the United States. However, as pointed out by Lyric Thompson, director of Policy and Advocacy at the International Center for Research on Women (ICRW), some 250,000 women were forced into early unions in this country between the years 2000 and 2010. But even that number is likely…

You know that old saying where women do the house work and the guy brings home the bacon?  As a single woman, I cannot relate. As a woman raised predominantly by a single mother, I cannot relate. As a Muslimah, I cannot relate because bringing home bacon is a turn off. However, I can relate to the value of a woman’s participation in the household and the greater economy. It’s 2017 and here we are still debating women’s issues, let’s not go down the rabbit hole of women of color, young girls, or equal pay. Fact is, it’s 2017, why is this still even in question? Well, the simplest answer…

When Khadijah Abdullah, Founder and Executive Director of RAHMA, first walked into the meeting room, I wasn’t sure what to expect. The meeting was titled: “Honoring our Daughters: The Effects of FGC in the DMV”. This struck me as odd. The Greater DC area? We keep hearing of practices of this nature in some countries, especially in Africa, but they always seemed very far away. Never in a thousand years would I have imagined that these practices could be performed here, at home. A few minutes before I joined the lecture, I did some research about FGC in America and found statistics I didn’t expect, especially that I knew that…

The name Kayla Vaughn Tolbert tells you nothing else but my name, my identifier. My name is simple but my identity is complex.  Three sub identities are encompassed into Kayla Tolbert. Although we live in a contemporary social sphere aimed to break racial, sexual and religious barriers, I prefer to keep my barriers intact. I have three identities, two crowns (hair and hijab), and one voice. I am black, I am a woman and I am Muslim. For the ignorant, for the stubborn, for the misogynists, for racists, for the conservative, for the pacifists, I am too much. I was raised by a single mother of a black and Pakistani…