The Next Decade For Muslim Women, Media and Power · Muslim Girl
A decade ago, Muslim Women’s Day was created in response to the Muslim Ban. It turned invisible frustration into a visible moment vocalizing what had long been true: Muslim women are spoken about, legislated against, and represented, often without ever being heard.
Ten years later, the landscape looks different: Muslim women are visible across media, fashion, and culture in ways that were once unimaginable. But, if there’s one thing the past decade has demonstrated to us, it’s that visibility is not the same as power; and progress is not protection.
If the past decade was about being seen, the next decade must be about who controls the narrative.
Here are my ten points for what comes next.
1. Representation is not the end goal. power is.
It’s wrong to believe that visibility alone can change everything. Just because Muslim women are seen doesn’t mean the system will follow.
Representation without control only reshapes the image, not the outcome. True power lies in authorship: who frames the story, who edits it, and who decides what is worth telling at all.
2. Progress does not guarantee protection.
Even at the height of “inclusion,” Muslim women remain among the most surveilled, targeted, and politically instrumentalized groups.
The lesson is clear: cultural acceptance doesn’t cancel out structural exclusion.
In the absence of institutional access, Muslim women did not wait. We built.
Platforms, publications, communities, and networks have emerged not as alternatives, but as necessary infrastructures for survival and expression. What was once seen as niche is now a blueprint. While these spaces shouldn’t replace mainstream exclusion, they must be institutionally preserved and strengthened.
4. The digital public square is not neutral.
Social media promised us democratization, but with its evolution it has also delivered visibility governed by opaque systems: algorithms, moderation policies, and enforcement that disproportionately impact marginalized voices.
Muslim women have learned to navigate, resist, and rebuild within systems that were never designed with us in mind. That’s why we have to ensure that our voices are protected and dignified within online systems just as much as offline.
5. Storytelling is a form of political power.
The one who holds the pen (or keyboard) and tells the story determines how communities are understood and how they are treated.
For Muslim women, storytelling is not an aesthetic or trending hashtag. It has to be strategic. It’s become a powerful, accessible and human tool for how we counter policy, reshape perception, and assert presence in spaces that have historically excluded us.
6. Cultural influence is not the same as institutional power.
Muslim women are shaping trends, conversations, and aesthetics across industries, but cultural presence does not automatically translate into decision-making authority.
The next decade must close that gap.
7. There is no singular Muslim woman narrative.
The flattening of Muslim women into a single identity has always been a tool of erasure.
Our strength, beauty and power lies in respecting our multiplicity across race, geography, class, and experience. Any future that centers Muslim women must preserve that complexity, not simplify it.
8. Visibility without safety is a fragile gain.
Increased presence has come with increased scrutiny.
To be visible as a Muslim woman today often means to be exposed to harassment, misrepresentation, and political targeting. The future must prioritize not just presence, but protection.
9. Solidarity must be structural, not symbolic.
Partnerships, campaigns, and statements have defined much of the past decade. But, real alignment requires more than visibility: it requires redistribution of resources, access, and decision-making power.
Anything less is temporary.
10. The record must remain in our hands.
For generations, Muslim women have been documented by others. We’re used to being interpreted, analyzed, and defined from the outside.
Muslim Women’s Day was never just about being included in the record. It was about becoming the record. Ten years in, the work is unfinished, but it is no longer unformed. Muslim women are not waiting to be recognized. We’re building, defining, and documenting in real time.
Today, we are no longer asking to be included. Muslim women are not a category to be represented; we’ve become a social, cultural, and political force reshaping the systems that once excluded us, and often will continue to do so unless change happens. If the past decade proved anything, it’s that we can’t afford to wait for permission, nor do we intend to. What comes next will be written by us, or it won’t be written at all.
We’ve come a long way. Here’s to the decade to come.
The record continues.
