What is the first thing that pops into your mind when I say the words “Muslim women”? Do you think of oppressed women who have to live by strict rules due to their religious beliefs? Are women who wear the hijab thought to have been forced to? Or are women who decide not to wear the hijab viewed as pariahs of their society? All these thought and images pops into one's mind. People living in today’s society have these preconceived notions of how Muslims live their lives. Islam and its teachings have been misrepresented and negatively portrayed in most Western media outlets.

 Muslim women have a general lack of fair media representation because they are WOMEN and misrepresentation because they are MUSLIM! (IMOW). There are three common ways the media portrays Muslim women: 1) Appearance overload- the media has become fixated with the way Muslim women look—what they are or are not wearing instead of who they are and what they are doing. 2) Always the victim- Muslim women are portrayed in the mass media as voiceless, submissive, passive, and oppressed victims instead of the powerful and creative leaders that they are. There is a lack of focus on the achievement of Muslim women, especially those who do not fit  a veiled and victimized stereotypes. 3) All the same- Muslim women are each individuals but the media promotes images and stories about Muslim women are diverse in their opinions, appearances, spectrums of faith, occupations, cultures, languages, heritage, and anything else you can think of.

 http://www.upworthy.com/can-we-break-these-stereotypes-already-muslim-women-everywhere-deserve-better

 I came across a website called Muslima:Muslim Women’s Art and Voices- a global online exhibition from the International Museum of Women. Muslima presents a groundbreaking collection of thought pieces and artwork from contemporary Muslim women who are defining their own identities and, in the process, shattering pervasive stereotypes. Explore work from artists, activists, and thought-leaders around the world, representing a broad spectrum of Muslim realities and identities, addressing such topics as Power, Leadership, Appearance, Myths, Generations, Faith and Connection.  

 Throughout this blog, I intend to shed light o several different Muslim women who have shattered stereotypes through their various forms of art. Sara Foryame, a young British Emirate woman, who provide thought provoking work about media's portrayal of Muslim women. Singer and songwriter, Yuna, who defies all odds by being a successful singer while still upholding her religious beliefs. Saba Chaudhry who is an upcoming artist, known for her art work "Technicolor:Muslimah". Helen Zughaib, a Lebanese Christian artist who is well aware of the issues Muslim women face. 

http://muslima.imow.org/content/aboutmuslima

Helen Zughaib was born in Beirut, Lebanon, living mostly in the Middle East and Europe before coming to the United States to study art.  Her work has been in exhibits and art galleries in the US, Middle East and Europe. President Obama gave one of Zughaib’s pieces to Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki of Iraq and Hilary Clinton gave one of her pieces to the King of Morocco. Helen can be viewed as an important Arab artist.

Her collections called “Changing Perceptions”, she uses the black abaya and veil, juxtaposed with elements from recognizable Western artists such as Picasso, Modrian and Lichtenstein, to create a new vision of the abaya, so often misunderstood in the West. In these pieces, she weaves together East and West, symbolizing a shared identity and dialogue, as opposed to separating the two. She wants viewers to stop viewing the abaya the same way after seeing this series. Not one to condone or condemn the Muslim attire, Zughaib argues that the abaya is not oppressive. It’s tradition. It’s a choice. 
http://muslima.imow.org/content/changing-perceptions

She is a “female, Muslim, contemporary artist exploring the religion Islam branching out to the media portrayal in particular focus to Muslim women, gender identity, cultural and social influences world wide and transculturalism and urbanism in the Middle East.” One of her artworks consists of a 15 seconds video of  scarves placed into plastic bags that is shaken up, thrown around and squeezed by a person’s hands wearing pink dishwashing gloves. Sara explains this specific artwork by saying:
The cloth is assigned political and cultural contexts but what we are looking at, at the end of the day is a piece of cloth, threaded and woven together into a form. The project explores how the media sculpts, prods and squeezes the depiction of Muslim women and their scarf. I remove the woman from the image, making no room for assumptions, and ask the viewer what does the scarf mean now? The media has killed the Muslim Woman, her dreams, and her accomplishments and left the anchored scarf for autopsy. 

Sara Foryame's work is incredible, although she is new to the art world, her art collection speaks volumes. http://www.sforyame.com

Yunalis Mat Zara’ai a.k.a Yuna is a 28 year old Malysian Muslim female artist. She began writing her own songs at the age of fourteen then starting performing at the age of nineteen. She made appearances on “The Tonight Show” with Jay Leno, appears in ad campaign for Barneys, performed at an MTV concert and has started a clothing business. She has become the prime example of accommodating to both the Western and Eastern culture. She chose to begin wearing the hijab ten years ago, motivated by wanting to become a better Muslim. Since many Malysian artists don’t cover their hair, it was rare for Yuna to keep her hijab on and establish herself as a young dynamic music artist. “But for me, I was the first one who covered up and, you now, I just wanted to be myself. I didn’t want to change for the industry.” Yuna has reached over a million views on her music videos; her songs are inspirational to young females. Some call her song “Rescue” to be a feminist anthem.



http://hereandnow.wbur.org/2014/02/19/yuna-malaysia-music

Saba Chaudhry is a first generation Pakistani-American woman. Growing up as being different than her other friends who were white and blue-eyed, she has struggled to fit in amongst her peers. She kept trying to find herself within these little boxes. She found her true calling, which is art. Her work is not about defining Muslim women, or anyone, but un defining them. About un defining ourselves and connecting to that universal something that exists within all of us.  That “something of the eternal.” Saba stated in the " International Museum of Women"

As I move forward, I am attempting to show this universal something through an increasingly emphasized combination of geometric and organic design, communicating meaning through the use of these flat forms.  I feel that this is a further exploration of my heritage, incorporating Islamic art’s emphasis on geometric pattern with the colorful, flowering, curled lines of South Asia, balanced and integrated within a contemporary American context. (Technicolor Muslimah)

As you can see below, Saba depicts portraits of Muslim women in acrylic paint. The women are painted in bright colors which is in a way much different from how Muslim women are portrayed. 

She explains in depth to why she chose Muslim women to be the main parts to her art work: 
I chose women because I believe that they are often the most clear representatives of the Muslim world, and the most misunderstood. This series focuses on aspects of these women that need to be explored - their humor, their joy, and their kindness. Each woman is identified as Muslim by her headscarf. This visual symbol is truly the only suggestion of her religion, because my perspective here is humanist. In addition, eleven of the paintings are presented with props to further support the theme of humor, or to identify the subjects as American, as well as Muslim. While there is a clear theme unifying these paintings, the individuality of each woman is highlighted in her unedited written statement. She tells you about herself, in her own words. The fifteenth portrait is a bit of a departure from the rest of the group. The subject faces the viewer directly, with an assertive gaze. We know nothing of her but her name. This portrait is especially important, because it indicates that the story is not over. This joyful portrayal of Muslim women is only one aspect amongst the kaleidoscope of qualities that these women possess. She is the blank slate. She is asking the viewer, “So what do you think of me, now?” She anchors the series, and asks the viewers to look back upon themselves. What do we know of her, if she does not tell us? Even in this age of instant information, we have a tendency to see a woman wearing a hijab, and imagine a patriarch forcing that veil upon her. We have an obsession with that piece of cloth and all that we think it represents. The assumption is that these women are being oppressed, that they are imprisoned within layers of cloth. This closed-minded perspective imprisons far too many. Those who fall prey to this misconception are preventing themselves from seeing how dynamic these women truly are, from seeing that they are American women who make their own choices. The hijab truly recedes into the background in these paintings, and the vibrant women within them shine through - in technicolor.

More of her work is available here http://www.artbysaba.com