Meet Qahera, the Muslim superheroine fighting bigots instead of comic book villains
created by Egyptian illustrator and designer Deena Mohamed, written by Marta Vidal in The Lily
“I can hear it! The sound of … misogynistic trash!” says Qahera. Carrying a sword as sharp as her wit and wearing a veil that is sometimes used to conceal her identity, the Muslim superheroine is out to fight against injustice.
Her “super hearing” helps her detect misogynists, but also racists and Islamophobes. In some comic strips she defends women from harassers, in others she goes after groups that denigrate and try to silence Muslim women. Qahera can be translated as vanquisher or conqueror — and if you add “al” before Qahera, it’s the Arabic name of Egypt’s capital, Cairo. The character was created by Egyptian illustrator and designer Deena Mohamed. CLICK TO CONTINUE
