October 2017
HEALING POWER OF
WRITING
TOUT NATURAL
BEAUTY LANGUAGE of
FASHION TELSTRA PERTH FASHION FESTIVAL 2017
FA SH I O N
TELSTRA PERTH FASHION FESTIVAL 2017
OCTOBER 2017
NO LABELS
FASHION TAKEOVER
BE A U T Y
TOUT NATURAL
O PI N I O N
MY REVERT STORY
HEALING POWER OF WRITING
LIVING
TROPICAL LIFE
FOOD
THE NACHOS D’LUX RECIPE
SWEET POTATO CHIIPS & DIP RECIPE
COVER Photography: Omar Choudry.
H E A LTH
Abaya: Haute Elane. Model: Sarah Ali.
THIS PAGE Photography: Omar Choudry. Abaya: Noor Boutique. Model: Sarah Ali.
THE FRUITS YOU NEED TO FIGHT DIABETES
TR AV E L
SANDAT GLAMPING TENTS
Disclaimer: All rights reserved. No part of this magazine or content may be reproduced or used without the written permission of the publisher: C.A. Editorial Consultants. All information contained in this magazine is for information only, and is, as far as we are aware, correct at the time of going to press. The views, ideas, comments, and opinions expressed in this publication are solely of the writers, interviewees, press agencies, and manufacturers and do not represent the views of the editor or the publisher. Whilst every care is taken to ensure the accuracy and honesty in both editorial and advertising content at press time, the publisher will not be liable for any inaccuracies or losses incurred. Readers are advised to contact manufacturers and retailers directly with regard to the price of products/services referred to in this magazine. If you submit material to us, you automatically grant C.A. Editorial Consultants a license to publish your submission in whole or in part in all editions of the magazine, including licensed editions worldwide and in any physical or digital format throughout the world.
Editor’s MESSAGE ctober...my favourite time of the year. It’s the time when we realise that the year is coming to an end and things begin to slow down a little as we take stock of the months that have past and gear up for the new year ahead of us. Well, that’s what I do anyway.
HOW TO USE GAYA Spot these icons in the magazine? Tap them to go directly to the website, social media or even play a video.
And as I sit here and think about what we’ve done, what we’ve seen and what we’ve accomplished in the last months, it brings a smile to my face and I have you to thank. Tap here to go to
Thank you for sticking by us, for allowing us time off last month to just take a breather (me especially since I took a nasty fall in the gym and seriously injured my ankle) and for waiting patiently as we put this issue together for you. Well, I am happy to report that we (me especially) are back in the swing of things and we’ve got exciting new plans for the new year. Insya’Allah. I pray that we will continue to grow together and if you’re still out there deciding to join us as a writer, I do hope to hear from you soon! Our doors are always open.
the website
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love & peace...
Juliana Iskandar
OUR WRITERS Co-founder & CEO Editor-in-chief Juliana Iskandar juliana@gayamagazine.com
Beauty Editor Naira Ghanem Creative Content Producers Hanisah Maskon hani@gayamagazine.com Jessalynne Woo magazine@gayamagazine.com
Aateka Samara Amal El Gharbi Ameena M Shagari Ana Maria Aneesa Annie Mirza Anu Shukla Asma Toujani Asala Montaser Assil Taha Ayesha Khan Aylim Duran Azrina Naimuddin Aqeelah Lin Bushra Amjad Emma Khoo Faizah Malik Fatumina Said Hakeemah Cummings Haleemah Dandarawi Hanna Begum Hajar Masri Hira Ali Hasna B Idil Mohamed Ali Iqra Arif Lamaa Husseini Lamya Ayad Layla Rodrigues Lipa Hussain Madiha Ahmed Mahnoor Malik Malikah Ebrahim Mahvash Rehman Marwa Samara
Mastura Koelmeyer Modestlywrapped Mumtahana Elahi Nada Alzalloum Nadia Ali Nafisa Bakkar Naseema Miah Nawal Boukir Nouhailah Rahma Talwar Reham Khan Roda Abdi Rym Shamas Sabera Hassanally Goulam Safira Adam Sajeda Sheikh Saleema Shah Salma Shalaby Sana Mahmood Sanae Chakrouni Sara Dekkiche Sarah Ali Sarah Ghanem Shazia Javed Hassam Sheema Sherry Sheikha Haroon Shuhada Alauddin Siddika Jaffer Siti Nur Habibah Stoori Khan Tayeba Abdur-Rahman Unaizah Toffar Zahra Rose Alazaibi Zoya Khan
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Fashion
fashion festival TELSTRA PERTH
THE LANGUAGE OF FASHION: MULTICULTURAL RUNWAY Written by Mastura Koelmeyer Photos by Ryan Ammon courtesy of Face of Africa Australia 5
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t has been a crazy week packed with shows for Telstra Perth Fashion Festival’s 2017 progr am. With excitement running high, many flocked to Fashion Central located in Forrest Chase, City of Perth to witness the Free Runway Events presented by Act-Belong Commit. This year focused on a few new runways incorporated in the program, including the Bettina Management Model Search, Red Opium by Sandra Rives: Chirriger Collection: Aboriginal Runway (about time I say!) and The Language of Fashion: Multicultural Runway.
The Language of Fashion was a powerful platform to celebrate the beauty of diversity. In a festival first, Fashion Council WA is delighted to present the new Multicultural Runway, which honours the breadth of cultures in Western Australia. The show featured a beautiful parade of varying shapes, sizes and ethnicities showcasing African, Indian and Modest Fashion collections. Shumi Tsungu founder of Face Of Africa Australia, Bindiya Manchanda Committee member from Indian Society of WA and Aisha Novakovich Modest Fashionista and Advocate for the Muslim Community were part of the Advisory 7
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Board for this year’s amazing show. Working closely with Project Managers Ragen Haythorpe and Gabriel Chua to deliver this year’s spectacular runway, Perth’s community were awed with the celebration of diversity through fashion. An array of colours and designs brightened up the runway as the models walked The Language of Fashion catwalk. It was the first time that Modest Fashion has been showcased on a Perth fashion runway and history was made.
“...this solidified the need for diversity to be celebrated through mainstream fashion in Australia and Perth has made its mark on the map...” To have well known modest labels such as Hijab House, Ilham A Ismail and Veilerra items from Kazeca Studio as well as Sabreen’s Window Collection showcased on the catwalk, this solidified the need for diversity to be celebrated through mainstream fashion in Australia and Perth has made its mark on the map.
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It was my very first time walking a fashion runway and I could not be ever more grateful to the Advisory Board and Office of Multicultural Interests for contacting me directly to be part of the show!! I can’t believe I was part of such a fantastic runway walking along side beautiful professional models and making my mark in history!
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I look forward to future fashion runways celebrating diversity and the beauty that is cultural diversity. Thanks for reading!
M. xx
THE WRITER: MASTURA KOELMEYER Eurasian by heritage, an Australian born girl who lives in the small but vibrant city of Perth. She is a mother of three beautiful children and a lover of fashion. Usually a full time worker, she juggles the upbringing of her children and her blog. Mastura is the avid blogger behind Missy-Lia, which mainly focuses on motherhood, modest fashion and lifestyle.
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Fashion
LABELS A Muslim Designer Without Any Labels: Scarves by Hannah Fellerman Written by Annie Mirza Photos by Hannah Fellerman
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After emailing, Hannah told me that she is a revert Muslim, and her brand is not just for Muslims, “it is for everyone”, and that’s why there are some typically modest photos on her Instagram and website, as well as some that are less modest. She told me she wanted her brand to be part of a movement with modest wear, “without labelling it or restricting it to Muslims only”, and her next collection aims to normalise modest dressing outside of the Muslim community even more with a collection of maxi dresses.
pon Instagram stalking a few months ago, I fell onto Hannah’s page (@hannahfellerman), which caught my eye because there were images of models in scarves, worn as hijabs, neckties and drapes. This isn’t really something I’ve seen a lot of, it’s either hijabs, or it’s every other way to wear a scarf. Moreover, her bio said ‘British Designer’ and ‘Lifestyle Brand’. With no obvious indication that this was a Muslim designer, I decided to find out why there was a range of models, as well as show my appreciation for it. 14
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Modest clothing has been surging in popularity, especially since many bloggers and digital influencers have caught media and designer attention, like H&M, and Dolce & Gabbana. Hannah’s approach to designing was to include everyone, and not limit scarves to just one particular audience. Scarves can be versatile, they are and have been a staple accessory to many people, and she wholeheartedly embraces this flexibility and diversity. Hannah launched her scarves, which are a variety of prints, cuts and materials, in late July with a catwalk show and 15
advert premiere. The collection ranges from satin to crepe de chine to chiffon, and are available in squares, large squares and maxis. The best part about these scarves, at least for me, is the range of prints and colours that are available. From floral, to marble, to geometry, Hannah’s scarves include patterns and prints in a refreshing way. Not only do they make great hijabs, but they’re also suitable for other wear, and will definitely brighten up any outfit.
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I was invited to attend the launch as a guest as well as one of the models, so of course I decided to go. Hannah’s brand is rather rare - a Muslim designer who designs for everyone without the label of Muslim fashion.
I wanted to find out more and meet her so went down to her old stomping grounds, the University of East London, where the launch was happening.
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The runway took place with a range of models of different ethnicities, sizes and backgrounds. Not only was Hannah passionate about the models she chose to take part but also the way the scarves were presented to the audience, “the scarves can be worn in many different ways and that’s what the collection is about, so it was important to have a diverse range of models.” Some models were styled in hijab, while others wore them as a belt, headband, or shawl.
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As a young Muslim entrepreneur Hannah welcomes diversity within all people, whether they are Muslim or not. The entire collection is extremely distinct: it’s not limited to Muslims, and it’s not limited to non-Muslims it’s aiming to bridge the gap, reinforcing the idea that modesty, and an iconic accessory like a scarf, can be for anyone, no matter who it’s designed by.
THE WRITER: ANNIE MIRZA Annie is a professional model and writer from the UK with a Pakistani Muslim heritage. Despite the restrictions within the modelling industry for South Asian and Muslims women, Annie has worked with a range of fashion professionals within the UK, Pakistan, India and Canada. She is also a freelance writer and editor for various magazines, websites and companies.
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Fashion
Fashion
Takeover Written by Sarah Ali Photos by Omar Choudry
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odesty is no longer associated with religion or culture, there has been a movement in the perception of modest fashion as this sweeping trend takes over the world. Modest fashion has now become much more prominent in the mainstream market as we have seen with hijabi models being more celebrated and major high street brands launching lines that are more conservative, and some even launching specific hijab lines, such as Nike.
Black Abaya from Haute Elan
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Modest fashion is now available for everyone; illustrating how being confident and comfortable is the new thing. Modest fashion does not have to be boring, you can still be fashionable and stylish whilst being conservative. This is exactly what I try to show on my social media. I use this platform as a way to promote modest fashion to those who feel as though they can't look beautiful without showing skin. That just isn't true. Modesty is beautiful, sophisticated and now is being given much greater appreciation in Western society.
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To me, it is about being comfortable in your own clothing and not having to flaunt your body to feel good about yourself. I have always been into modest fashion and I’m excited to see it seep into mainstream fashion - once again taking away the misconception that modest fashion is a religious or pious way of dressing. Yes, no doubt, we Muslim women are encouraged to cover up, hence we are the most likely candidate to take to modest fashion but outside the Muslim circle, there are many non-Muslims
As with many hijabi bloggers out there, my Instagram consists of showing women how you can style different clothing pieces and alter them to suit the modest style by, for example, layering over or underneath, or by wearing looser clothing such as culottes, which is a huge trend at the moment. Modesty to me, isn’t about covering yourself head to toe in plain clothing. Modest Fashion (or fashion for that matter) is subjective and is different to everyone and what they perceive as being modest. 22
White Abaya from Noor Boutique
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who appreciate modest fashion as part of their own personal style. Personally, I find it comforting to see clothing that is both fashionable and faith-conscious as it allows me to feel like I fit into society while not compromising my personal and religious beliefs.
With the rise of modest fashion bloggers, myself included, and the inclusion of hijabi models in fashion and beauty campaigns, I hope that in time, we will inspire more women to embrace modest fashion and also break the stereotype of the “typical oppressed” Muslim woman.
Not only has Western brands made modest clothing more available, but modest clothing has become more trendy and applicable for Western cultures by experimenting with different designs, colours and styles.
The rise of modest fashion is slowly but steadily changing that and with us coming together, I hope that one day the word oppressed would no longer be associated with modest fashion.
THE WRITER: SARAH ALI My name is Sarah and I am a modest fashion blogger and Instagramer; which are two of my favourite things. To me, modest fashion is all about feeling good and confident in your own skin without showing skin. I enjoy keeping up with the latest modest fashion trends and sharing them on my Instagram. Find me on Instagram by tapping on the icon on the right. See you online!
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Beauty
tout natural
W
e all love to take care of our skin, and going that extra mile to find something that contains natural ingredients always does the job one thousand times better! There are so many ingredients found in beauty products that have natural origins that work miracles for our skin. We don’t always have time to make that DIY Aloe Vera or honey mask so I’ve listed some of my favourite natural products that guarantee you radiant and healthy skin. Written by Naira Ghanem
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This is the only toner I’ve used in my life and I don’t think I will find anything that tops it!
Kiehl’s Calendula Herbal Extract Toner
Apart from hydrating your skin and maintain the oil and pH balance it’s also alcohol free which means it's not drying at all! What I love most about this product is the fact that it actually contains real Calendula flower giving you an ultimate concentrate and maximising the flowers benefits! Calendula is known to soothe redness and aid in the healing of any scars from spots or acne, so when you use it constantly, day and night, you will get amazing results! Apply onto a cotton pad and apply to your skin, focusing on the T-zone areas, and make sure you avoid the eye area as it can sting. It comes in a large 500ml bottle which will last forever with minimal waste! You can’t get more natural than this!
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Egyptian Magic All Purpose Skin Cream
Now this cream has had a lot of hype all over social media for the past year so I had to give it a try. It helps you achieve healthy looking, smooth and radiant skin. I would recommend this balm for those with dry or sensitive skin. Its ingredients include Honey, Royal bee pollen, and olive oil amongst many others, which all soothe the skin and give intense hydration, as well as causing no irritation. 26
What I love about this cream is the huge variety of uses, you can use it to remove your makeup, as a moisturizer and even eye cream, as well as using it your hair and even stretch marks! All natural ingredients in an all in one cream from heaven! It's so concentrated that you use such a minimal amount every time, and it lasts for months!
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We’ve all seen those activated charcoal mask DIY’s on Instagram, that claim to be natural remedies, but they actually do a lot of harm to our skin, through the use of cheaper processed charcoal substances as well as PVA glues.
The Body Shop Himalayan Charcoal Mask
Instead, go all natural with this charcoal purifying clay mask, which absorbs the impurities clogged in your pores and deeply cleanses the skin on many levels, rather than just the surface. You will see results with this face mask after just one use, just apply it evenly with an old brush, let it dry and rinse off in circular motions to exfoliate and make the most of this natural beauty.
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Looking for a deep clean scrub with scents of the beach? This one is for you! A beautiful rich sea salt scrub for when your skin is feeling clogged up and overloaded. It's really important to purify your skin as it's the base of your make up. You will feel a huge difference in makeup application after using this salt scrub and it will set much better!
Lush Ocean Salt Face & Body Scrub
You will become obsessed with the results once you try this out. Other salt scrubs can be quite rough and drying but Lush has added coconut oil and avocado butter to help counteract this and soften the skin.
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Lush The Kiss Lip Scrub A super quick and tasty lip rescue! Made using cocoa butter, safflower oil, caster sugar and sea salt to give you an exfoliating lip scrub that you can lick off! Its super cute colour is kinda addictive, and the mini edible hearts are even cuter! I promise you won’t have a day of dry lips after using this! Just scoop a little onto your finger and scrub gently onto your lips, and lick the sugar off when you're done, to give you smooth hydrated lips ready for the lipstick of your choice!
BEAUTY EDITOR: NAIRA GHANEM Hey I’m Naira, just an ordinary student with big dream! Whether its fashion, make up or daily life, join me on my journey. Whether big or small, we can take on the world, with a pretty face and a pretty heart.
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Opinion
Written & Photos by @modestlywrapped
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his story isn’t exactly my revert story. I’ve been asked many times to write it but if I’m honest, there are many reasons why I haven’t! Not because I don’t tell the story almost on a daily basis (because I do!), but mainly because once it’s written down it’s there for life. And that’s a huge part of my life, my husband’s, my children’s and my extended family’s life. It’s really personal and I want to know the person I’m speaking to before I decide which bits to tell them and which bits I would rather not. Because that isn’t the case. 31
I don’t want to tell the ‘I reverted because I wanted to and my husband had nothing to do with it’ story. The truth is, if I hadn’t met him I most probably wouldn’t be Muslim. My husband was the first Muslim I ever met. I reverted on the same day we got married in December 2009. Although that’s almost 8 years ago, I have taken my time with the whole process. I didn’t know if I could ‘go cold turkey’ on lots of things and so slowly, over a period of five years, I changed elements of my life. And slowly, I became Muslim.
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I’m not your typical revert. I’m mostly self-taught. I’ve gone about my learning in a way that I knew would suit me. I read other reverts stories, I read books, I watched YouTube videos and I learnt from others. Until only last year, I had no other Muslim friends. Imagine that! I didn’t join any groups. That scared me! I don’t like not knowing information. I like to be an informed person in a room. So I can have an opinion. And in this area, at this point, I wasn’t. Fast forward to July 2015 and my daughter was due in September. I watched as my husband prayed and I thought, one day, the kids are going to ask, “why does Abba pray and Mommy doesn’t?”
...every Muslim has the power to inspire another...
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And as I’ve said before in my ‘Turban Tale’ blog post, having a daughter makes you really think about the type of role model you want to be. So I taught myself to pray using YouTube videos. I learnt the sound of the words and then wrote it down as I heard it. I did it alongside the video for three months. It was hard! But it was when I was struggling and no more was going in that I kept telling myself that my intention was there and for that I would be rewarded. GAYA MAGA ZINE. COM
Then I started wearing the hijab. Just part time initially and then full time the day after I gave birth! It was only then, when I could pray and was wearing hijab that I felt like I could genuinely call myself a Muslim. I’d felt a bit of a fraud until then. Like I just liked the title. Since then my whole ‘Muslim’ world has completely changed. I made lots of Muslim friends and that’s made it so much easier than going at it alone like I had been. I even had someone tell me they started wearing the hijab because they saw me do it! How crazy is that?! That as hijabi
or even simply as Muslims, hijabi or not, we have the power to influence each other?! And that was why my journey started; because I wanted to inspire my daughter. Turns out, every Muslim has the power to inspire another. Something we should try and remember in our day to day lives. So it’s not quite my revert story, but it is my story as a revert.
modestlywrapped x
THE WRITER: MODESTLYWRAPPED As a revert I knew very few Muslims and I definitely didn't know how to dress fashionably modest! That's until I found the modest fashion community on social media! Then bang! I felt right at home! So I too started experimenting with my hijab style and taking pictures of my outfits - especially my work outfits as this was a difficult balance to find. I've met so many amazing people on this journey and I pray it continues! So come and join me just me, myself and my wardrobe!
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Opinion
Written by Faizah Malik
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t has been a long time since I managed to publish a post on my blog and whilst I'll touch on the reasons here, I wanted to start on a more positive note and share one significant event from earlier this year. I had a piece published in a collection of essays titled 'Mirror on the Veil'. The book tackles the controversial issue of veiling through the personal stories of a diverse range of women. It was a defining moment for me, not just because I felt it was the perfect opportunity to convey my personal experience with the hijab, but also to see my words appear in print as I've always been quite protective of my 34
writing, which in the past meant I was hesitant to submit anything. This was in part due to the natural tendency we as humans have, to want to protect our privacy, personal thoughts and experiences with others. I had been battling with the decision to put myself out there for a while and whilst I always knew that I could not write in my voice without exposing parts of myself, I also had a fear of inadvertently 'outing' other people. The advice I got time and again was that if people didn't want you to write about them, well they should have behaved better, but as a person of faith I don't
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believe in exposing others in that way and whilst I realise that this might alienate me from having my writing accepted on some blogs that want the full story, I don't care, because my integrity is a core value which I am not willing to sacrifice and I believe I can still write about myself and my own struggles and successes and inspire people without having to directly talk about the role others played. My piece was about my decision to wear the hijab which was an extremely personal journey for me. I have always been headstrong and somewhat of a feminist so it became quite a hindrance to me that people always came to the wrong conclusion that another human being was behind my decision and that in wearing it I somehow became passive and would fade away into the background when really it didn't stop me from succeeding in my career and going from strength to strength in other ventures.
misconceptions, at least for those who read it, could dissipate and certainly those who edited and read my work commented that they had learnt some important aspects of hijab and what it meant to me.
I guess I became aware of the stereotypes people had warned me about but it was that rebelliousness in me that welcomed the challenge. It may also surprise some people that not only had the decision been totally my own; my family did not even know I had decided to wear hijab until they saw me with it, but that it had also bought me so much happiness and peace. It felt good to tell my story so that all
I had still been unsure in myself but when a friend told me it moved her to tears I felt confident that my writing had inspired her in some way and that the experience I was going through may help others going through things that didn't need to be the same in context, but that had similar emotion or energy attached to it, would hopefully feel the benefit of my writing and so it was worth overcoming my fears.
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I guess I am trying to say that sometimes the terrible things we go through can bring us to an immensely positive outcome. And that on the outside it may seem like a person is failing, drowning, going backwards, not moving, all the things we see as negative, but actually what is really happening to them behind the scenes is that they are growing, learning, transforming, becoming resilient, becoming more beautiful and sincere and hopefully acquiring wisdom which they can then share with others and I honestly think if you've not gone
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behind the scenes and only those who know can actually feel the blessing and be grateful for the pain that bought them to this place, without which they would never have become who they were meant to be all along. This led me to write about the healing powers of writing, as one of the ways I transformed myself was by saying the things I felt out loud and putting them down in ink. When I wrote my piece for 'Mirror on the Veil', I was going through an extremely difficult period of my life,
...sometimes the terrible things we go through can bring us to an immensely positive outcome... through trauma of some kind you don't have that same wisdom and so rather than pity we should be in awe of these incredibly strong people who've moved these mountains and found the treasure inside. Sometimes it looks very much like standing still, like that person is stuck, just going through the motions, but this is why I love the concept of patience so much, in happiness we just can't acquire the same wisdom and strength that we learn in hardships. It looks like nothing is happening, yet it's a complete transformation taking place 36
so much so, that part of the content needed to be edited a number of times due to how I was feeling about a particular situation at the time, and due to the experience I was going through, which coloured my writing considerably. I’d say that the last few years have been pretty challenging for me and in the midst of all the confusion and heartache, I lost myself and what it meant to be me. I was reacting to the whirlwind of events that were going on around me and what I now recognise as an unhealthy situation.
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I had recently taken up the opportunity to write again, after a long time, I took myself to cafes once a week during the only free hours I had so they were as precious to me as gold. I would sit with my coffee in front of me and fresh notebooks, pen at the ready and a strong desire to write.
In trying to protect myself and stay afloat, I had to let go of the things that made me quintessentially me as well as normal wellness. I had to let go of self care and sacrifice for those who depended on me, I had to let go of joy and choose responsibility and strength. I had to go into survival mode and there was no time or energy for the things that used to make me feel alive. I also had to become my own champion, I had to pick myself up after the dark nights, I had to tell myself that I did the best I could have, I had to be in awe of how much compassion my heart could hold and I had to forgive myself for my mistakes, which meant to stop beating myself up for being so naïve, which I so very clearly was but would never have known had I not gone through what I did. 37
From the outside I looked like a writer penning my next novel and yet some days I would feel completely uninspired and beat myself up mentally for wasting a good mornings worth of writing time with just incoherent ramblings in front of me about the things that had transpired over the course of the week and how lost I was feeling. I used to put an enormous amount of pressure on myself to ‘create’, and subconsciously to heal myself, to find myself. In hindsight I probably thought I could write myself back into happiness but of course I now know that it is a process and it wasn’t going to just happen one morning over a caramel macchiato no matter how hard I willed it. I was constantly lost in thoughts of the trauma I was dealing with in my life and often wondered how I was still standing some days and not crying under a table somewhere, hiding from the things and people that were hurting me. I suppose it was a luxury I couldn't afford and when it came down to it I just don't know how to break down,
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I am too resilient that's just how I'm built. I'll never be that person who gets looked after or gets everyone's sympathy because my weakness makes others uncomfortable and it is the way when you're the strong one, but whereas before I saw it as unfair, I now see it as a blessing and I realise it's this strength that will allow me to help others going through difficult times. Fortunately I persisted with the writing and slowly the words started to filter out, hesitant at first, and wanting to be perfect in each word, there were piles of scrunched up paper before I allowed myself to be messy and raw, until one day it just poured out of me and I suddenly felt a familiar part of myself come back.
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A familiar voice flowing through my writing. It was a ‘hello again you’ kind of moment, and it was exhilarating. As I started to visualise myself as a writer again, various opportunities came my way, along with the invitation to contribute to the book. I would see reasons to write everywhere and the pain I felt was all the motivation I needed to sit down and write and persevere even during the many writing blocks I faced. One of the side effects of depression is the complete lack of motivation to do the things you really want to do. I would sit paralysed in the late evening doing nothing and then get angry with myself for not achieving the things I had set out to achieve when my girls were in bed.
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Even though as a single mother at that time I could have been forgiven for the exhaustion, however that pressure I put on myself was there in all aspects of my life - you must do this, you must learn that, you must heal, you must be the perfect mother, you must not waste time, you must not be sad, you must not let anyone see you struggling, you must not let them see how hurt you are, you must forgive. Until I learnt to be gentle on myself and talk to myself in a kinder way and believe me it's still a work in progress.
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my life at that very moment. Here I was, years later, fresh trauma being caused by the same thing that had caused me so much happiness in the past, so much had changed, yet again I had lost myself and I wondered, had I ever found myself in-between? In writing again, I started to find that familiar self, the girl I had lost so many times, in the process of my relationships, in motherhood, in the darkness of depression, in the pain and confusion that I had become so accustomed to
...I lost my way many times but life showed me where I needed to be, and no matter how I resisted, this journey needed to be taken...
When I submitted my first draft, I was already going through turmoil and even after sending through the first draft, my life took a dramatic turn, throughout the editing process, there was a lot of behind the scenes transformation and darkness that I was dealing with. There was also a lot of heavy introspection.
I was trying to ‘find’ myself after coming out of what can only be described as a bad dream. I realised that some of what I had written in my piece about feeling lost at various stages of my life, mirrored 39
living in recent years. I no longer had the energy to create, to motivate me to do something for myself, for my soul, but when certain energy left my surroundings, I was able to refocus again, as I found peace followed by the confusing departure. So when I wrote this piece, I attempted to not only rediscover myself, but I also attempted to heal myself and present to the world, that I choose happiness. It also gave me a way to find the perspective that was lacking around me from others.
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I was looking for advice in the wrong places and inside I knew how I felt about the situation and what felt right for me. But it took finding my voice. My writing voice and my inner voice. I have always believed that through pain, we can create beauty and art. That is very much how I felt about the piece I wrote and how it healed parts of myself, because I allowed myself to see the lesson my sadness was trying to teach me, and I release that through my writing. I feel it contributed to my well being, and it gave me hope, at a time when despair was overwhelming me. It gave me the hope of having my voice heard and my story read, and my art appreciated. If you read my work and you find any beauty in it, then please know, my words were my pain transformed. It was my sadness that made it all possible by carving a hole into my heart that could now be filled with joy. It was being hurt that gave me courage. It was loneliness that gave me strength. When I read the piece now, I am able to identify how much I have grown, and transformed, how much life has changed, and also how much my writing has matured. It has become an entry to my past, to be stored away under the file of life experience and the Faizah’s of the past. 40
...this heartache, confusion and pain, pushed me to become who I was meant to be...
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Now I see, more than ever, as I sit here writing this, that all of this heartache, confusion and pain, it pushed me to become who I was meant to be. A person who tries to make sense of the world through words, through thoughts and feelings. A narrator on life.
I am grateful for all the wisdom I now have and that will aid me in my writing, and in my life. And if you find that the previous blog posts seem different and lighter in some way, you would be right, because the person who wrote them, well I'm not her anymore.
I lost my way many times, but life showed me where I needed to be, and no matter how I resisted, no matter how much I ran from the discomfort of changing, because nostalgia makes us want to hold onto the past and who we used to be with a firm hold, this journey needed to be taken and this ending is finally in sight.
There are parts of her inside me still, but I am held together by something stronger now, I make more sense. I now know the level of compassion and forgiveness my heart can hold. I know I can withstand adversity and do not need another person to rescue me for I am complete as I am.
THE WRITER: FAIZAH MALIK Faizah Malik is a writer and the owner of online accessories boutique Kenze. She writes her thoughts on her blog and was recently published in a collection of personal essays on hijab and veiling titled, 'Mirror on the Veil', which is available on Amazon. She is also a PR Officer at Inspirited Minds, which is a faith based, voluntary mental health charity based in London called Inspirited Minds and is studying Counselling and Psychotherapy. She lives in Milton Keynes, England.
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Living
tropical life Amidst the craziness of work and life, all we want is to get away to a tropical island with no WiFi and just chill. If we can’t go there, then bring the tropics to us. Here’s a few home decor ideas to bring the tropics indoors.
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PINEAPPLE COASTERS FROM ETZY
TROPICAL PRINT & NEON PINK SILHOUETTE LAMPSHADE FROM LOVE FRANKIE
BIRDS OF PARADISE PILLOW FROM ZAZZLE
TROPICAL PRINT ARM CHAIR FROM CR LAINE
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CACTUS FRAMED PRINT FROM POLYVORE
VINTAGE PALM TREE LAMP FROM CHAIRISH
TROPICAL MELAMINE MUG FROM BOLT OF CLOTH
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JUNGLE COASTER FROM KLEVERING
GREEN CACTUS PINK FLOWERS FROM PATTERN BEHAVIOR
TROPICAL PRINT ACCENT CHAIR FROM ARTHUR G
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Food
MOVIE NIGHT SNACKS So you’re having the girls over for a movie night, and popcorn and potato chips are just passé. Impress your friends with these homemade movienight snacks - made with love.
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Food
THE NACHO D’LUX
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INGREDIENTS 1 pound ground beef, cooked and drained 16 ounce salsa (1 jar) 16 ounce nacho cheese sauce (1 jar) ¼ cup sour cream Tortilla chips
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DIRECTIONS
Cook ground beef in pan, drain, then return cooked ground beef to the same pan.
Add 1 jar (16 ounces) salsa to cooked ground beef. Heat on a low burner until completely warmed through.
In a separate pot (or microwave), warm cheese sauce until smooth.
On a plate, layer a handful (or more) tortilla chips, ladle salsa mixture on top of chips, layer nacho sauce on top, top with sour cream. Serve hot.
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Food
SWEET POTATO CHIPS & DIP 50
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INGREDIENTS For Sweet Potato Chips 3 medium sweet potatoes, thinly sliced 3½ tablespoon extra virgin olive oil + more for brushing salt Pepper (if desired) For Lemony Dill Dip ¼ cup mayonnaise 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice ¼ teaspoon dill weed
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DIRECTIONS
Preheat the oven to 350°C.
Scrub sweet potatoes and thinly slice.
In a medium sized bowl combine olive oil and sweet potatoes. Stir to combine and coat evenly.
Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Very lightly brush olive oil on parchment.
Arrange sweet potato slices evenly on baking sheets. Sprinkle generously with salt and pepper (if desired).
Bake 20 minutes. Flip sweet potatoes and rotate pans. Bake another 15 to 20 minutes or until desired crispness.
Remove and cool on paper towels. Repeat with any remaining sweet potato slices.
For Dip
Combine mayonnaise, lemon, and dill.
Whisk together. Serve with potato chips. Refrigerate any leftovers.
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Health
THE FRUITS YOU NEED TO FIGHT DIABETES. Diabetes is one of the top diseases plaguing our society today, stemming from our bad eating habits, lack of exercise and of course, our love for all things sweet. A lot needs to be done to combat this disease but to start off with, here are some great fruits to replace those sweet treats we love. Stay healthy!
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apples As they say, an apple a day, keeps the doctor away. Apples are high in fiber that helps digestion and is packed with antioxidants. Its natural sugars give you the sugar rush without the sugar crash.
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kiwi Packed with Vitamin C, fiber and just the right amount of sugar, need we say more?
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limes & lemons High in vitamins C, A, B, magnesium and soluble fiber which helps regulate the blood sugar level. Soluble fiber retains the amount of sugar taken in by the blood.
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bananas Bananas are an excellent source of energy. When consuming this fruit, portion control will be the key to controlling sugar levels, because bananas are high in carbohydrates.
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apricots If you are looking for something with limited sugar and maximum benefit, then apricots are your best friends.
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watermelons High in its water content, watermelons are great to add before a meal to reduce the chances of overeating hence create a feeling of fullness, without raising the blood sugar levels.
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cherries And the cherry on top (excuse the pun). Cherries possess antiinflammatory properties that could prove advantageous when taken by diabetic. But as with anything, eat in moderation.
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Travel
Written & Photos by Hanisah Maskon
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I
you feel the amount of care that the owners have put in to provide guests with a luxurious experience while inviting them to be part of nature.
There are no concrete walls at Sandat Glamping Tents Resorts. The tents are hidden and separated by huge plants and greens. The furnishings are so refined that sometimes you forget that you are in a secluded corner of a forest. The attention to detail was impeccable and
My stay here was truly therapeutic. I fell asleep before 10pm and woke up before 5am, feeling refreshed and ready to explore Ubud. Imagine falling asleep accompanied by the music of the subtle natural orchestra of crickets, frogs and the rustles of the leaves and then wake up to the choir of birds and the silent soft rays of sunlight. Enchanting.
have always been 'Jane' at heart. Love the greens and flowers and just being alone with nature. My experience at Sandat Glamping Tents Resorts at Ubud, Bali, is one that would be hard to forget.
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If you ever go to Bali, head down to Ubud and have your Sandat Glamping Tents Resort experience yourself. Here's some info that you might find useful...
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There are no phones and air -conditioners. However, there is WIFI access. If you do wish to have a portable air-conditioner, do let them know prior for them to make the arrangements (extra charge!). I didn't have any because there's always the pool! And, in the night it does get naturally cold.
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Sandat Glamping is a space for guests to relax and enjoy. Do be considerate and keep your volume or music down, especially at night. Rejuvenate together by listening to what Nature has on her playlist. 65
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Disclaimer: Review is based on travel and accommodation experiences only. Therefore, it is advised that any food or drinks consumed during the stay is up to the guests’ discretion as they do not have a halal certified kitchen. You may also choose to have your meals at the nearby town.
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I highly recommend walking along the rice fields and plantations in the early morning. Fantastic! Special thanks to Sandat Glamping Tents Resort for having me. As always, opinions at Gaya Magazine remains to be truthful based on personal experiences. Visit Sandat Glamping at www.glampingsandat.com
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