Yassmin Abdel-Magied

Nov 25, 2024 | hyphenonline.com | Yassmin Abdel-Magied

I have been known to enjoy a party. Not a party in the Hollywood movie sense, where young people get together and do what my parents would call “fraternising”, but an election party. I’m the kind of political nerd who loves to get the popcorn out for the exit polls, shouting at the screen, tweeting hot takes at the same time (though I’ve recently switched X for Bluesky). My election watching has spanned continents: Australia, the UK, the US, France.

Oct 21, 2024 | hyphenonline.com | Yassmin Abdel-Magied

I recently spent time with an old friend I hadn’t seen for a while. It hadn’t been an intentional break; the pandemic, my peripatetic existence and general inability to keep on top of WhatsApp messages mean there are often long gaps between seeing some of my favourite people. So much had happened since we last saw each other, introducing an element of uncertainty into the dynamic. I consider myself an open-minded person, but before we met I found myself wondering: did they support Trump?

Oct 2, 2024 | english.alaraby.co.uk | Yassmin Abdel-Magied

Uncovering Zanzibar's unseen 19th-century history in Abdelaziz Baraka Sakin’s Samahani Book Club: We speak to Abdelaziz Baraka Sakin about his novel 'Samahani' which explores the realities of slavery and power dynamics in 19th-century Zanzibar Literary fiction novels exploring the slave trade in Africa often focus on the Western side of the continent, detailing the rise and impact of the brutal European transatlantic project.

Oct 2, 2024 | newarab.com | Yassmin Abdel-Magied

Literary fiction novels exploring the slave trade in Africa often focus on the Western side of the continent, detailing the rise and impact of the brutal European transatlantic project. However, enslavement practices abounded throughout Africa and were not exclusively the purview of Western Europe. Abdelaziz Baraka Sakin's latest novel, takes us to 19th-century Zanzibar, where Omani Arabs ruled the East African archipelago.

Aug 19, 2024 | hyphenonline.com | Yassmin Abdel-Magied

My 30s are littered with the gravestones of former friendships. That sounds dramatic. But in many senses it is sadly true, and it is a reality I have been doing my best to grapple with over the past few years. I turned 30 in the midst of Covid pandemic lockdowns, celebrated the turn of the decade alone in a quiet Parisian apartment, watching video messages from loved ones around the globe. Thirty is a strange birthday for millennials.