Remarkable muslim women of the 20th century

Remarkable Muslim Women of the 20th+ Century

Javed Mohammed

k2film@live.com

Sabiha Gökçen World's first female fighter pilot and first Turkish female combat pilot, aged 23

Madhubala (Mumtaz Jehan Begum Dehlavi) first female Indian Muslim

screen icon

Meena Keshwar Kamal women’s rights activist founded the Revolutionary Association of the Women of

Afghanistan in 1977.

Photo Credit: Creative Commons/RAWA.

Betty Shabazz Wife of Malcolm X and early Muslim activist

Umm Kulthum: widely regarded as the greatest female Arabic singer in history

Ingrid Mattson: First female president of Islamic Society of North America

(ISNA)

Sayeeda Hussain Warsi, Baroness Warsi: First Muslim to serve as a minister in the United Kingdom

Tahmineh Milani: first prolific Persian film director/writer

Afghan Girl: Sharbat Gula: June 1985

Rabia Z: Fashion Designer First brand to produce prêt-a-couture ranges catering to niche needs of the ever evolving 96 Billion US$

Islamic Wear Market

Benazir Bhutto In 1988: first woman elected to lead a Muslim state & Pakistan’s first female prime minister.

Mehreen Faruqi: First Muslim woman to serve in an Australia parliament.

Nawal al-Moutawakel International Olympic Committee’s vice-president, and first Moroccan, African, Arab, Muslim

woman athlete to win a gold Olympic medal. president. (AFP)

Merve Kavakci Turkish-American lawmaker: First time in 1999 a woman

arrived in parliament wearing a headscarf for her swearing-in ceremony (and then forced out)

Shirin Ebadi: 2003 Nobel Peace Prize for human rights and founder of Defenders of

Human Rights Center in Iran. She was the first ever Iranian to receive the prize.

Anousheh Ansari: first Muslim Woman in space in 2006

Ruqaya Al-Ghasara from Bahrain: First Muslim athlete to participate in

Olympics with Hijab

Mecca Laalaa, Australia's first female Muslim surf lifesaver

Wafaa Yaakoub, crowned as Miss Arab World 2007

Tawakkul Karman: Co-recipient of Nobel Peace Prize 2011

Donna Eljammal: Sweden’s first veiled police recruit, 2011

Dalia Mogahed: First Muslim woman appointed to a position in President Barack Obama’s administration

Hadia Tajik: First Muslim woman to become Minister (of Culture) in Norway, 2012

Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy first Oscar for a Pakistani Director, 2012

Zahra Lari: First Hijab Wearing Muslim Woman Figure Skater to compete in an

international competition, 2012

Amina El Sergany is the first ever Muslim referee, Olympics 2012

Malala Yousafzai: Pakistani teenage activist for girls education, 2012

Samina Baig: First Pakistani and youngest Muslim woman to climb

Everest, 2013

Barbara Muhammad Sharief: Broward County's diversity, commissioners in 2013 selected as the new county mayor a black woman raised in

the Muslim faith

Ibtihaj Muhammad: First African-American Muslim female fencer in the history of the sport

Sadia Saifuddin (BA ’14) 40th student regent to sit on the

University of California Board of Regents and first Muslim to join the board 2013

Shehneela Ahmed: Lawyer becomes Britain’s first female Muslim football agent in 2014

Photo: ROCHDALE ONLINE

A K2 Vista Production

• All images are copyright of the respective owners and obtained from the public domain.

• This is not a complete list. If you feel someone should be added, please comment and/or create your own list.

• Contact: k2film@live.com