Feminist Spotlight: Mohja Khaf

Kahf is a creative writer, essayist, and academic. Her work includes discussions of Arab identity, migration, gender, sexuality, and feminism. Her published work includes: The Girl in the Tangerine Scarf a critically acclaimed semi-autobiographical piece about a transnational migrant woman learning about herself, the women in her family, and identity while growing up and returning to Damascus to visit her grandmother; E-mails from Scheherazade a collection of poems that include critiques of domestic violence, explorations of love, female friendship, and women’s identities; and Western Representations of Muslim Women a thorough history of the images and the imaginary of the West with regards to Muslim women from contact forward. The latter, addresses how women’s images change in order to suit the needs of the political climate of Western nations rather than changes in Muslim women’s lives. Finally she is the Susie Sexpert of Muslim WakeUp!’s Sex and the Umma Column answering questions through narratives/short stories about sex and sexuality, both homosexual and heterosexual, for readers. The goals of the column are as follows:

• To raise awareness among Muslims of sexual pleasures, problems, challenges, and concerns, from a perspective that affirms life and sexuality. Our views are shaped by egalitarian Muslim values, conceiving of sexuality in a joyous and Islamically inspired way.
• To address modern day Muslim sexual experiences even if they do not match Islamic prescriptions for sexual conduct.
• To affirm the sexual drives and concerns of women as much as those of men.
• To bring to light aspects of the Islamic heritage related to eroticism, sexuality, and love, including the many national cultures and literatures influenced by Islam.

Her humor, dedication, and concern for women’s equality in all areas shows in the multiple forums in which she expresses her voice and invites others to be part of the conversation.