Niloufar Haidari

London

Writer at Freelance

high risk high reward

Articles

The mosques opening up to help with substance misuse in their communities

3 weeks ago | hyphenonline.com | Niloufar Haidari

In November 2024, a few dozen people gathered in Peterborough’s biggest mosque to discuss a subject often considered taboo in such spaces. The drug and alcohol awareness event was the first to be held at Faizan-e-Madina, a move celebrated by local healthcare professionals and community workers as an encouraging step towards changing attitudes to addiction and substance misuse in the Muslim community.
Can nail polish really be halal?

4 weeks ago | hyphenonline.com | Niloufar Haidari

As I made my list of resolutions for the new year, I knew one of them would prove particularly challenging. I have never struggled with the spiritual side of my faith, but some of the practical parts — namely, praying five times a day — have tended to fall by the wayside due to a lack of discipline, lifestyle conflicts and my obsession with always having my nails done.
The 2025 Eid gift guide

1 month ago | hyphenonline.com | Niloufar Haidari

Ramadan may only have just started but Eid will be here before we know it, so Hyphen has compiled this guide to inspire gifts for your loved ones for the special day. All our selections are from independent, Muslim-owned businesses from across the UK — from Cambridge to Stoke-on-Trent — and showcase brands offering sustainable, sunnah-based or philanthropic products.
‘If Dynamo can do it, why can’t I?’: the rise of Muslim illusionists

1 month ago | hyphenonline.com | Niloufar Haidari

The magician Dawud has mystified the likes of Ed Sheeran, Manchester City footballer Jack Grealish, rapper AJ Tracey, and Sadiq Khan with his sleight-of-hand tricks. The 21-year-old illusionist made a name for himself by performing magic tricks on the live streams of internet personalities during the Covid-19 lockdown and now has a TikTok following of more than 220,000.
The knitted balaclava: winter’s biggest trend is here to stay

1 month ago | hyphenonline.com | Niloufar Haidari

March may be just around the corner, but the interminable cold seems to be showing no signs of letting up, and neither does this winter’s biggest trend: the knitted balaclava. The item most commonly comes in the form of a fluffy snood or a woollen headscarf tied under the chin. I haven’t been able to step outside the house and walk 10 minutes without seeing at least three women stylishly bundled up looking like babushkas with iPhones.
From Kabul to Penny Lane: tracing the rise of the Afghan coat

Jan 22, 2025 | hyphenonline.com | Niloufar Haidari

There are few things more important for surviving the winter season than a warm coat. If you’re anything like me, the arrival of cold weather means personal style is sacrificed for the sake of comfort and warmth. In my case, the temperature dropping below double digits means begrudgingly dusting off my uninspiring but practical down jacket, and accepting that I will probably look like a tourist until spring arrives. But what if there was a way to look fashionable and stay warm?
How are we meant to create resolutions and new beginnings in the depths of winter?

Jan 16, 2025 | hyphenonline.com | Niloufar Haidari

The concept of starting a new year in the dead of winter is at odds with both my personal proclivities and the natural world. I have never liked January and the forced self-betterment that comes along with it. There is something deeply perverse about trying to rebirth yourself while everything else is resting and hibernating. In the UK, the end of the old year and the beginning of the new are marked by biting cold, overcast skies and days that are over before they’ve had a chance to begin.
2024's biggest fashion trends: from brat green to brand boycotts

Dec 4, 2024 | hyphenonline.com | Niloufar Haidari

It has been a jarring year in the world of fashion and beauty. Last year’s cutesy Barbie pink was replaced by this summer’s brash brat green. After a decade of body positivity, weight loss drug Ozempic swept through Hollywood and suddenly, being dangerously thin . Meanwhile, everywhere I looked young women were dressed either like the frontman from Limp Bizkit or a trad wife.
From turmeric face masks to mustard seed haircare: the ancestral tips passed down through generations of women

Nov 6, 2024 | hyphenonline.com | Niloufar Haidari

While video calling my sister last week, I commented that her hair looked really good. “Thanks,” she said. “I made my own hair mask: avocado, honey, olive oil and some coconut oil.” My mum had also made a similar all-natural hair mask at home that week, with yoghurt, egg, rice water and olive oil. She told me she’d found this specific recipe on Instagram, but I recognised the ingredients as ones she’d recommended I use for hair health growing up — a time before social media.
London’s South Asian fashion community aims to redefine the meaning of sustainable

Oct 9, 2024 | hyphenonline.com | Niloufar Haidari

The days are getting shorter, the leaves turning yellow, and the high street is filled with plastic pumpkins, knitted mushroom jumpers and other items signalling the start of a new season.