On our flight from Hong Kong to Kathmandu I witnessed a man going through the ritual of Adhan (Islamic call to prayer). I was then struck by the realization I was seeing something I would never see in the US, a Muslim man praying on a place? I can only imagine the outcome.

As I have often written about in my academic career and discussed with peers Islamophobia is a hot button issue for me. To be blunt, I cannot and will not stand for it. When starting our research for this trip to Nepal I once again faced the realization that Islamophobia is worldwide.

Today we met an amazing organization, The Fatima Foundation, which was established to empower the Muslim women of Nepal. They do this by using religious teachings in the Qur’an to promote women’s human rights.  The foundation also provides training for the women to provide them with a sense of empowerment. At the meeting they shared the story of a differently abled women who received training in tailoring and felt so good about what she does that she now runs trainings in her district.

The work the Fatima Foundation does helps these women feel less marginalized and has allowed them to not only be proud of themselves as women but as Muslim women. The program has worked so well that now Muslim men are taking part in the trainings too which is uplifting the Muslim community as a whole here in Nepal.