Writing
Criticism
Making Scents of Empire
An artist turns the gardens of Mughal paintings into fragrances that tell a story.
Criticism
The Hidden Politics of Smell
In Sensorium, a book by the perfumer Tanaïs, tells a deeply personal story of scent and the role it played in colonial histories.
Criticism
How Shahzia Sikander Remade The Art of Miniature Painting
In “Extraordinary Realities,” the artist uses a once suppressed form to interrogate the modern world.
Criticism
A Teen-Age Girl’s Cell-Phone Video Sparks Desire and Coercion in “Sandstorm”
Seemab Gul’s short film draws on the story of a real-life girl who found herself at the center of a controversy about privacy and modesty.
Essay
How My Community Showed Me I Could Be Both Muslim and Queer
It was this Islam, the Islam of authenticity, community, justice, and love, that showed me how to be a truer version of myself.
Essay
After Christchurch, My Grief Came Late
I chose to treat myself with ease—to not resist my natural response, but to sit with it, allow it to manifest, and reflect on why so many of us felt this way and what it could teach me.
Reporting
More than just a house
A symbol of hope and solidarity for generations of Northwestern’s Black Community.
Winner - 2016 Society of Professional Journalists Mark of Excellence Awards Region 5 - Nonfiction Magazine Article
Reporting
Amidst the vitriol of today’s Islamophobia, many American Muslims find it difficult to engage critically with these issues in their communities. Paired with assumptions about the rigid nature of the religion, this has facilitated the erasure of queer Muslims and raised obstacles for them to come out.
Reporting
The threat of violence against people because of their sexual orientation is not uncommon in South Africa, but will new laws help?
Reporting
Outside of legislative channels, civil society is also combating homophobia in various ways.
Reporting
Hundreds of people are living in abject conditions in City-maintained flats.
