Oakley Jennings-Fast holds a Bachelor's of Science in Chemical and Biological Engineering from University of Colorado. She spent 4 years working as a chemical engineer at BASF in roles from R&D to engineering to management. During this time, she directly saw the raw materials, energy, and passion that go into making every day "stuff". It was this experience combined with her love of nature which compelled her to dedicate her career to circular economy. This means making a more sustainable manufacturing and consumer ecosystem. With her company Level Up Planet, she educates individuals on their purchasing and disposal options and consults companies in managing their product design, production and waste in a sustainable way.
This episode is going to one of four interviews that I did with young Muslim women living in France. Today's episode is going to be featuring Lina who is currently a student and was born in France to Moroccan parents and also raised in France.
This episode is going to one of four interviews that I did with young Muslim women living in France. Today's episode is going to be featuring Najwa who is currently a student and was born and raised in France.
This episode is going to one of four interviews that I did with young Muslim women living in France. Today's episode is going to be featuring Aïssata, who was born and raised in France. When she reached out to me she said she would love to talk about her experience specifically as a Black Hijabi Muslim in France.
This episode is going to one of four interviews that I did with young Muslim women living in France. Today's episode is going to be featuring Tawama, a student in anthropology.
Khulood is an activist to her soul. Her passion focuses on global empowerment of Muslims to reclaim the strength in their Islamic identity. Having lived and observed Islam in cultures including Arab, African, Caribbean, and Southeast Asian, she is channeling her unique lens and experiences in a YouTube project, ImmortallyKhulood.
Lawyer by day, writer by night, Nailah Dean reports from the front lines as she battles racism, ageism, and sexism in the Muslim dating world. Her work has appeared in Al Jazeera, Insider, and MuslimGirl. She is a regular contributor to ICNA’s The Message International, and the Salams and Muzmatch Blogs. She’s a member of the SF Writers Workshop and recipient of a 2019 Martha's Vineyard Institute of Creative Writing Fellowship. Nailah created and directed a photo series about Muslim women and the barriers they encounter on the road to love and marriage. She is currently writing a book about Muslim dating and marriage. Nailah Dean lives in the Bay Area. Catch her on IG: nailahdean28
Sumaiya Tufail is a Muslim Canadian writer, poet, and social justice activist, director of Saa Events in Mombasa kenya, She is an aspiring Human Rights Lawyer & founder of social enterprise Diasporas co. Her parents immigrated from Kenya to Canada in the early 90's to escape abuse & poverty. The transgenerational struggles of her ancestors and parents have helped shape her worldview, and inspired her writing as well as her activism. In her early 20's she dropped everything to study Islam in the US and Arabic in Sudan for a few years, seeking to find herself. This experience led her back to her parent's homeland which bridged the gap she was missing in her life. After being steeped in that rich cultural, spiritual and social experience, she returned home to Vancouver to pursue her undergrad in International Relations. She is most known for her advocacy against SGBV and women's rights. You can find her here: @sumaiyatufail
Jasmine Fremdehake is a life coach/content creator/podcast host of LemyLazalyzekYaMadame. This was a really interesting episode for me because I got to learn some things about gender roles and feminism in both the context of Sweden, her country of residence, and in Egypt, her country of origin. You can find her @LemyLazalyzekYaMadame.
Sarah Khan is a student at the University of Washington and founder of Afsana, an American-based, student organization focused on highlighting women’s stories with education and their identities in Pakistan. As a privileged Pakistani-American who can pursue an education in the United States, Sarah aims to humanize the statistics of low literacy and educational attainment rates by sharing Pakistani women's experiences with education. She seeks to challenge the apathy around these statistics and help affected women reclaim their right to their own narratives when discussing these issues. This mission has led her to connect Pakistani-Americans and Pakistanis to build an organization committed to sharing the stories or "afsana" of Pakistani women. Check out Afsana at www.afsanapk.org and @afsana.pk
Hanan is a Human Rights Lawyer and lecturer. She has studied, lived, and worked across different countries in Europe. She works as a lecturer and content writer and is deeply interested in Women's Rights and issues. We had a great conversation about feminism and gender roles.
Turning 30 feels strange. This video is a reflection on what it's been like approaching this milestone birthday and how I approach taking care my mental health. This is an episode from my YouTube channel series called "Let's Get Deep" where I talk about different topics that are a bit more personal than my other videos.
Hakeemah Cummings is a modestwear stylist from Chicago, but residing in the DMV area. She is the fourth of ten children from parents who immigrated from Belize, in Central America. She began her career as a modestwear stylist back in 2013 after studying to become a doctor, and has since styled for runway and brand shoots, while also showing her own personal style. She uses her platform to inspire women towards modest style with an emphasis on being unapologetic about the many layers to our identity, especially as Muslim women. She is a mother of 2 young girls and a you can find her content @hakeemahcmb and her website www.cmbstyling.com
Nida Khadbai is a designer at Headed Somewear, previously known as That Hijabi. She is passionate about social justice issues, diversity, and inclusion. She currently lives and works in NYC. In this episode we talk about everything from running a modest-wear business to the controversy of large Muslim influencers taking it off.
Mariyah Zaman is a freelance writer from Wales in the UK. Her work ranges from spoken word and poetry to news articles and features a passion for exploring Muslim youth culture and fashion. Her work has been seen on the Huffington Post UK and Buzzfeed. She focused her journalistic dissertation on “the relationship between Islamic fashion and politics.” We had an interesting conversation about the state of the Muslim fashion scene. We talked about everything from the beauty standards to the spiritual significance of it all.
Maryam Shehata is a fashion industry marketing project manager and graduate of International Development Studies from UCLA. Through her education she has gained a broader perspective on the realities, roadblocks, and impact of fast fashion and just how much consumers play a key role in it all. I reached out to her to learn more about the world of fast fashion and asked her opinion on how it all plays into the Muslim modest fashion scene. I learned a lot from our conversation and it helped me realize that it isn't really all that black and white. So here's our conversation discussing the grey and everything in between. Find her on instagram @shehaute.m
Izdihar is a historian and Ethnographer on Eastern Europe, Russia and post Soviet states. She’s an American convert of Balkan heritage who goes under the moniker "Lady Izdihar" where she educates through Instagram, TikTok and YouTube on the often overlooked and misrepresented region and people of the former Soviet bloc. We had a really interesting conversation about modesty and her experience in finding her personal style. You can find her on her social media platforms under @ladyizdihar. I hope you all enjoy the episode!
Gita Savitri Devi is a YouTuber, Author, and content creator with over 1 million followers. She is from Indonesia but lives in Germany with her husband Paul Partohop. She makes captivating and engaging content not only about her life but also about social issues. I met her back in 2017 when we were both YouTube Creators for Change fellows and we've been connected since. I have a great conversation with her and Paul, about what to expect during my wedding.
Aida Azlin is a writer, creative, and a proud believer fiercely committed to serving and championing women from all over the world, and doing so mainly through the work on her website, aidaazlin.com. Over the years, she has also found joy in making short Videos on YouTube about similar subjects of faith, empowerment, entrepreneurship, and living a creative and full life. Aida considers herself to be a Singaporean through and through, but also calls Seoul, Tangier and London her other homes. In this episode Aida gives me advice on wedding planning and the different phases of marriage.