There is no shortage of Muslim women to inspire, encourage and motivate.

It’s 2017 and Muslim women across the globe are breaking stereotypes. No matter where they are located or what industry they are involved in — sport, fashion or politics — they are getting themselves known and setting a powerful example for Muslim women everywhere.

If you are not aware of them already, now is the time to be inspired by these successful Muslim ladies.

Saufeeya Goodson

Based in Dubai, Saufeeya is known internationally, appearing in many fashion magazines. She is also the co-owner of Modest Route — previously known as @hijabfashion — which is a popular Instagram fashion page with over 2.9 million followers. If you haven’t already spotted her in Vogue or Teen Vogue, then she is one to check out. Her outfits are bold and daring, ranging somewhere between contemporary and avant-garde. Usually spotted wearing her signature sunglasses, she is making Islamic modest clothing fashionable and very much on-trend.

Linda Sarsour

Linda is a Palestinian-American civil rights activist, mostly known for her part in helping to organize the 2017 Women’s March on Washington, a protest movement led by women that brought millions together across the world. They all had one common goal and that was to make it very clear that women’s rights are just as important as human ones.

Ruma

Known for her fashion blogs, Ruma recently found herself on the Twitter page of H&M, applauded for her very special panache and stylishness. Named Mahmuda but called Ruma by everyone, her dream is to be so much more than just a regular fashionista. Looking to inspire her followers with stories and lessons learned from her life, she uses social media and the art of fashion to stimulate and motivate. Seeing haute hijab as the essence of traditional modesty, she sees what she does as being much more akin to a women’s movement rather than simply a fashion statement.

Halima Aden

Halima is a model known for being the first Somali-American Muslim to take part in a Minnesota USA pageant wearing a hijab and go on to reach the semifinals. To top this, she hit the runway when she modeled for Kanye West at his Yeezy season 5 fashion show. Disposing of all Muslim stereotypes, she also appeared on the front cover of Allure, wearing the Nike hijab with a caption saying, “This is American Beauty.”

Shahd Batal

As a YouTuber and vlogger, Shahd’s focus is mainly on providing viewers with her own original tips to attain healthy skin and apply makeup. Sudanese by birth but now living in Minneapolis, her videos have been hitting the internet since 2014 and were recently rehashed and showcased via her new sleek channel. Her focus is on honesty and pure simplicity. Here you will find tutorials on how to wear a classic head-wrap and pen the perfect eyebrows, all held together with her very personal stories with regard to the hijab.

Carolyn Walker-Diallo

Carolyn hit the headlines when she was sworn in with the Quran back in 2015, becoming the first New York City Civil Court judge to do so. She bravely stood up to the backlash that resulted and, because of this, she has become an inspirational figure for many Muslim women around the world.

Behnaz Shafiei

Something you may not expect is a Muslim woman road racer/motocross rider, but Behnaz is exactly that. Born in Iran, she is the sole Iranian female to be involved in road racing professionally. In a country where women are ridiculed for their driving skills, Behnaz loves the fact that many men are scared to do the things she can on her motorbike.

Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy

Sharmeen has been named by Time magazine as one of the 100 most influential people in the world. A Muslim filmmaker, journalist and activist born in Pakistan, much of her work focuses on highlighting the inequalities that many women face. So far she has received two Academy Awards, six Emmys and a Lux Style Award. Even the Pakistani government has honored her, presenting her with the second highest civilian honor of the country, the Hilal-i-Imtiaz.

As you can see, there is no shortage of Muslim women to inspire, encourage and motivate. By breaking the mold and showing themselves to be powerful, influential and compelling, they are setting a great example for Muslim women of today.

The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect Fair Observer’s editorial policy.

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