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The New Arab Staff

Hafsa Lodi 

Lodi

Hafsa Lodi is an American-Muslim journalist who has been covering fashion and culture in the Middle East for more than a decade. She has a BA in journalism from Ryerson University (Toronto) and an MA in Islamic law from SOAS, University of London. The relationships between religion, culture and modernity have always fascinated Hafsa, who covered topics like honour killings in Canada’s South Asian communities, the use of DNA evidence in rape cases in Pakistan and the industrialization of the Holy city of Makkah, before turning to the fashion journalism beat. Her work has appeared in The Independent, Refinery29, Business Insider, Teen Vogue, Vogue Arabia, The National, Luxury, Mojeh, Grazia Middle East, GQ Middle East, gal-dem and more.

Hafsa’s debut non-fiction book Modesty: A Fashion Paradox, launched at the 2020 Emirates Airline Festival of Literature. It explores the causes, controversies and key players of the global modest fashion movement from cultural, religious, political and feminist lenses. Harper’s Bazaar US called it “a well-researched and tender portrait of the politics and people behind a movement.”

Book Club: A stirring collection of Pakistani women’s voices on inheriting feminism, whether silent or vocal, from the females that came before them.

10 January, 2024

Book Club: Michael Muhammad Knight’s latest work is a thought-provoking literary expedition that takes the reader from Islam’s early times to modern-day debates.

22 November, 2023

Book Club: In her debut novel, Huma Qureshi delves into the complexities of marriage and siblinghood through the lenses of two sisters.

25 October, 2023

Book Club: With main character Nazia, dead, readers put the puzzle pieces of her life together through the perspectives of her loved ones.

11 October, 2023

Book Club: Set between Pakistan and London, Awais Khan’s latest story delves into misogyny, abuse and perseverance.

30 August, 2023

Book Club: Safinah Danish Elahi’s new book, The Idle Stance of the Tippler Pigeon, is set between Pakistan and London and follows the lives of a trio whose lives are changed forever after a tragic childhood incident.

26 July, 2023

Book Club: Imagining a reality where blasphemy becomes a capital offence, Kuwaiti Professor Mai Al-Nakib delves into the mind of a woman facing a possible death penalty, while tracing the lives of the female ancestors who shaped her.

19 April, 2023

Book Club: Lamya H’s debut is about finding acceptance and liberation through faith.

23 March, 2023

Book Club: Best of Friends by award-winning Kamila Shamsie examines a childhood friendship’s ability to withstand the weathering of age, diverging paths and differing moralities

28 September, 2022

Book Club: African-American theologian and 'lady Imam' Amina Wadud's latest book is a personal reflection on the five sacred tenets of Islam. The book discusses and deconstructs common practices of Muslims today.

17 August, 2022