Meet MMW’s Fatemeh Fakhraie

November 16, 2009

Editor, writer, blogger, and now textbook author, Fatemeh Fakhraie is known for her smart critiques, keen analysis and unique perspective. But how did she get started as a writer? Where does she hope her career will go? elan steals a moment from the busy schedule of the woman behind Muslimah Media Watch to learn about her professional goals, the women she admires and her aspiration of becoming the next pleasant, pantsuit-wearing Wilhelmina Slater.

elanQ: When you were growing up, did you aspire to be a writer?

Fatemah Fakhraie: Definitely. My first experience with “publishing” was in first grade, when I wrote, illustrated, and stapled together my own book. My first grade teacher was a stand-up lady, and put my book on the bookshelf with the others. I’ve been writing ever since.

Q: How did your background prepare you for your career?

FF: Does “aptitude for complaining” count as preparation?

Q: What motivated you to start Muslimah Media Watch? And when you first started it, did you think it would be what it is today?

FF: I have been so blessed with MMW, alhamdolillah. I first created it because I didn’t see any place in mainstream feminist media where Muslim women were speaking for themselves, and I didn’t see anywhere positive at all in mainstream media for Muslim women. All this pissed me off and I needed a place to complain about it. Two years later, MMW has a worldwide contributor base and readership. And I work with the smartest and greatest ladies in the world – I may have laid the foundation for MMW, but they are helping me put up the barn.

Q: Congratulations on your master’s thesis being published into a book. What’s next on your to-do list?

FF: Thank you! Seeing my book on Amazon really hit it home for me – I published a text book! The most important part is that my research is helping to fill a void in academic studies on hijab. Even though hijab is a very talked-about subject in academia, there is surprising lack of information on hijab as fashion.

At MMW, we’re working on a site revamp, and I am nerding out with excitement over it. Definitely stay tuned for that.

Q: What are your professional goals?

FF: Right now, I kind of feel like the Ugly Betty of publishing. But I want to be the Wilhelmina. But nicer. And with more pantsuits. I love a good pantsuit.

Q: Who is your biggest inspiration?

Women like Bea Arthur, Zainab Salbi, Hatshepsut, and my ma. Also, I grew up watching a lot of women-centered television, like Murder She Wrote, The Golden Girls, Designing Women, and Murphy Brown, which had a huge impact on me.

Q: What advice would you offer aspiring writers?

FF: Find your voice. Write as you. Don’t write anything that you’ll regret in a 5 or 10 years, and look at things from every perspective – objectivity isn’t truly possible, but every side can and should be given consideration.

Q: What do you think are the biggest challenges facing Muslim-American women today?

FF: I think a lot of Muslim-American women are facing the same issues any other woman is: money and career worries with the recession, which of course affects every other area of life.

Q: Complete this sentence: On Sunday mornings, the first thing I do is_________ .

FF: Eat breakfast. My stomach always comes first. And on Sunday mornings, my love for trashy TBS movies or a good book usually follows.

Q: What’s the one thing you cannot live without?

FF: My best, most true friends.

Q: Who would play you in a movie?

FF: It would definitely have to be someone with lots of curly hair. Golshifteh Farahani?