Author Archives

Educadora y comunicadora social. Periodista de género. Investigadora independiente en Estudios de la Mujer, Religión y Política. Fundadora de iniciativas sociales como Mezquita de Mujeres y Sakina: Desarrollo de Capacidades para la Justicia de Género y Construcción de Paz.

• Talking Gender and Islam at the Grassroots by Vanessa Rivera de la Fuente

  By Vanessa Rivera de la Fuente on August 17, 2017 • ( 3 )

  

  In my current trajectory linked to community development —  via both activism and my professional field —  I’ve learned that popular education is a very useful practice and methodology to decentralize all types of knowledge. Since I embraced Islam, part… Read More ›

• Rape, Community and Healing by Vanessa Rivera de la Fuente

  By Vanessa Rivera de la Fuente on July 20, 2017 • ( 9 )

  

  During my last months in Cape Town I have been facilitating a series of workshops on Rape, Gender Justice and Culture of Consent. I am blissful for the opportunity to teach and learn with a group of people with whom… Read More ›

• Rhetoric of a Talking Body by Vanessa Rivera de la Fuente

  By Vanessa Rivera de la Fuente on June 15, 2017 • ( 5 )

  

    I have been thinking lately in the female body: object of foreign narratives and appropriations to their geography Who decides what is right to say about a woman’s body? The correct answer is the most logical: The same woman… Read More ›

• Recalling the Courage of Shamima Shaikh by Vanessa Rivera de la Fuente

  By Vanessa Rivera de la Fuente on May 27, 2017 • ( 1 )

  

  Shamima Shaikh’s name may be unfamiliar for you and many who are not deeply informed about Islam and gender issues in South Africa or who tend to identify Muslim women and/or activism for women’s rights in Islam with the Arab region. Why… Read More ›

• Patriarchy is Killing Us by Vanessa Rivera de la Fuente

  By Vanessa Rivera de la Fuente on April 20, 2017 • ( 4 )

  

  And not softly.. More than 2000 died by feminicide … More than 700 disappeared in Argentina … And more in Latin America and the world. A few days ago they found Micaela dead. Her family, friends and my fellow activists… Read More ›

• Deadly in Love: No Flowers, Dignity and Rights by Vanessa Rivera de la Fuente

  By Vanessa Rivera de la Fuente on February 16, 2017 • ( 11 )

  

  Vanessa Vazquez Laba, a scholar feminist and researcher in gender studies in Argentina, with whom I share a first name, activism, and intellectual interests, hits me on Valentine’s Day with the following message: There have been 57 femicides in the… Read More ›

• Women Made of Fire by Vanessa Rivera de la Fuente

  By Vanessa Rivera de la Fuente on February 1, 2017 • ( 13 )

  

   This was going to be a post about my new life in South Africa; to say what it means for me the return to this country full of wonderful things to do, after an intense and grievous experience in 2015… Read More ›

• Women, Theology and Identity as Believer by Vanessa Rivera de la Fuente

  By Vanessa Rivera de la Fuente on November 17, 2016 • ( 3 )

  

  Like all my reflections, this is not intended to be conclusive, but rather, to share some impressions about theology and the way in which women are created or given an identity as believers. In the androcentric and misogynist narratives of… Read More ›

• Why Is The Abuser Still Among Us? by Vanessa Rivera de la Fuente

  By Vanessa Rivera de la Fuente on October 20, 2016 • ( 10 )

  

  They say that men cannot control themselves. So, when they see a woman, the body overcomes the mind. If you have to rape, you rape. I have heard it many times, the same argument to justify cheating. “I am a… Read More ›

• Religion, Dissent and Decolonial Approach in Latin America by Vanessa Rivera de la Fuente and Juan F. Caraballo Resto

  By Vanessa Rivera de la Fuente on October 3, 2016 • ( 12 )

  

  Talking of decoloniality in religion and theology is today a fashionable stance that has been adopted even by the academic and political mainstream. As Latin Americans, decolonial perspectives affect us firsthandedly. For the last 500 years, our continent has nurtured… Read More ›

• Latin Identities and Muslim Malinches by Vanessa Rivera de la Fuente and Sumayah Soler

  By Vanessa Rivera de la Fuente on September 15, 2016 • ( 14 )

  

  The myth says that Malinche, an Aztec princess, betrayed her people, her culture and faith, for the love and the desire to be loved and accepted by the foreign Spanish conquer, colonialist and exploiter. Her name, said with contempt, is… Read More ›

• Progressive Islam: A Critical View from Latin Muslim Feminists by Vanessa Rivera de la Fuente & Eren Cervantes-Altamirano

  By Vanessa Rivera de la Fuente on September 2, 2016 • ( 11 )

  

  Progressive Islam(s) in the West, particularly in Canada and the US, have been defined as movements that primarily encompass Islamic feminism(s), LGBTQI affirming movements, anti-Conservative theologies, feminist theologies, women-centered liturgies, etc. From within this umbrella, we have seen calls to… Read More ›

• Gender Jihad and Epistemic Justice by Vanessa Rivera de la Fuente

  By Vanessa Rivera de la Fuente on August 17, 2016 • ( 15 )

  

  In previous articles I have developed my personal perspective on Islamic feminism as a third narrative pathway that responds to the two traditional hegemonic discourses that exist on Muslim women, which I call “idealization of inequality” and “demonization of Islam… Read More ›

• Caring as Resistance and Sisterhood by Vanessa Rivera de la Fuente

  By Vanessa Rivera de la Fuente on August 3, 2016 • ( 7 )

  

  Every week, the women participating in my workshops easily share their experiences in the social, political or community world. However, it is difficult for them to talk about themselves. Several of them face complex situations: A divorce or a long… Read More ›

• Have You Seen These Muslim Women? by Vanessa Rivera de la Fuente

  By Vanessa Rivera de la Fuente on July 21, 2016 • ( 18 )

  

  The photo that accompanies this article, or others similar, have been posted, shared and commented through social networks as expression of the inherent misogyny of Islam, with descriptions such as “DAESH taking women to sell in the concubine’s market” or… Read More ›

• Islamophobia and Two Tales about Muslim Women by Vanessa Rivera de la Fuente

  By Vanessa Rivera de la Fuente on July 9, 2016 • ( 14 )

  

  Woman in religion is a story. This means that all that is said about women in all religions, as well as from social and natural sciences, institutions and the media is a  story, a story that is the product of… Read More ›

• Khutba “A Call to Radical and Angry Women of Faith” by Vanessa Rivera de la Fuente

  By Vanessa Rivera de la Fuente on June 18, 2016 • ( 27 )

  

  I am grateful to the Interfaith Group of Feminist Theologians and Women of Faith for remembering my spiritual affiliation and giving me the opportunity to lead this service in this fully of blessings month of Ramadan and share with you a reflection… Read More ›

• Who’s to Blame for Patriarchy? by Vanessa Rivera de la Fuente

  By Vanessa Rivera de la Fuente on June 6, 2016 • ( 22 )

  

  A 16 year old girl was drugged and then gang raped by 33 men in Brazil. The police arrested the boyfriend as a suspect. A 30-second video recording the suffering of the girl was uploaded to social networks, as a… Read More ›

• Feministing Sarah and Hagar by Vanessa Rivera de la Fuente

  By Vanessa Rivera de la Fuente on May 20, 2016 • ( 27 )

  

  One story that has marked my life as a feminist is that of Sarah and Hagar. This is a story of pain and enmity among women under patriarchy that despite its age, is still relevant to illustrate the negative effects of the… Read More ›

• The Denied Trans-Childhood of Medusczka by Vanessa Rivera de la Fuente

  By Vanessa Rivera de la Fuente on May 12, 2016 • ( 12 )

  

  One of my articles in April featured one of the “Niñas Santas Trans”(1). I have been asked often where I came across her and if there are more liken her. Well, she is part of a colorful and provocative project of… Read More ›

• Woman Is Not Anonymous by Vanessa Rivera de la Fuente

  By Vanessa Rivera de la Fuente on April 21, 2016 • ( 13 )

  

  Lately I have been reflecting on this quote of Virginia Woolf: “For most of history, Anonymous was a woman.” Here she points out the deliberate invisibilization of women’s contribution in all areas of human endeavors. Patriarchy always takes these contributions… Read More ›

• Islamic Feminism and Heterosexual Dogma by Vanessa Rivera de la Fuente

  By Vanessa Rivera de la Fuente on April 7, 2016 • ( 14 )

  

  Reza Aslan says in his book “No God But God” that religions are myths. He explains that “religion” is a set of stories fluctuating between truth and fantasy that serve to explain and answer questions about human fate. Taking this idea… Read More ›

• Misogyny From Gay Ally by Vanessa Rivera de la Fuente

  By Vanessa Rivera de la Fuente on March 29, 2016 • ( 15 )

  

  Diane Padilla is a Mexican activist who has been victim of systematic online harassment in recent weeks. She put a claim in against her abusers to the Human Rights Authority in her country. But Diane has had to deal with… Read More ›

• Mawada, Rahma and Sakina by Vanessa Rivera de la Fuente

  By Vanessa Rivera de la Fuente on February 18, 2016 • ( 21 )

  

  Last year I thought, seriously, of getting married. I know, it may be hard to believe, given my image of cranky feminist. But I still have an engagement ring in art-deco style with a bright ruby to show this was true. He… Read More ›

• Islamophobia is Gender Violence and a Feminist Issue

  By Vanessa Rivera de la Fuente on January 21, 2016 • ( 10 )

  

  The case of Larycia Hawkins, an African-American Christian, Associate Professor of political science at Wheaton College in the United States, who published a photo on Christmas day on Facebook wearing a headscarf in solidarity with Muslim women victims of Islamophobia,… Read More ›

• Xmas and Feminine Wisdom by Vanessa Rivera de la Fuente

  By Vanessa Rivera de la Fuente on December 17, 2015 • ( 25 )

  

  I am not fond of Christmas and these holidays are very difficult for me to deal with. This has nothing to do with me being a Muslim. I have been a Grinch before this. I do not like excessive noise… Read More ›

• All Male Panels and Feminist Movement Building by Vanessa Rivera de la Fuente

  By Vanessa Rivera de la Fuente on November 24, 2015 • ( 13 )

  

  Making visible gender inequities in the accessibility, acquisition, and transmission of knowledge is essential to breaking ceilings and barriers that prevent women from full participation. This is especially critical in religion, an area in which Patriarchy has bashed women in… Read More ›

• The Pilgrimage We Need Is Not To Mecca by Vanessa Rivera de la Fuente

  By Vanessa Rivera de la Fuente on October 19, 2015 • ( 10 )

  

  Many people have been writing about the Hajj from a critical perspective, telling Muslims it is a time to reflect seriously and deeply about what is happening there in Saudi Arabia with our sacred places and rituals. I am here… Read More ›

• Offering My First Khutba: On Imaan & The Divine Presence by Vanessa Rivera de la Fuente

  By Vanessa Rivera de la Fuente on July 30, 2015 • ( 10 )

  

  For the last 6 weeks, I’ve been living in Cape Town, South Africa. This has been a blessed opportunity to grow, to gain more knowledge, and to reach outcomes that are beneficial both for my work as an activist and… Read More ›

• Women Fighting Patriarchy … Against Each Other by Vanessa Rivera de la Fuente

  By Vanessa Rivera de la Fuente on June 18, 2015 • ( 21 )

  

  It is painful to find out the lack of understanding among feminists when controversial issues are discussed, to the point that it seems we have failed in achieving a key factor: transforming the way women perceive and interact with each other…. Read More ›