The Digital Sisterhood: Uniting Muslim women globally

The Digital Sisterhood, like many podcasts, provides its listeners with a voice for their community. The platform aims to unite women of colour and counter the pre-existing narrative on what it means to be a Muslim woman – and if their recent download milestone is anything to go by, it’s certainly doing that! We asked host and CEO, Cadar to tell us more about how the show came to be…

Who are you and what’s your podcast about?

The Digital Sisterhood Podcast’s mission is to unite Muslim women globally by highlighting the importance of cultivating their own spaces, creating their own content and being the author’s of their own stories. Our goal is to counter the pre-existing narrative on what it means to be a Muslim woman in the world today.

Through digital storytelling, we hope to empower a generation of women to unapologetically be themselves and inspire them to foster a strong and unwavering relationship with Islam. TDS works to showcase the religious and artistic expression of Muslim women, centralizing the beauty of Islam and of sisterhood.

What was the first podcast you ever listened to?

Truth is, I never really listened to podcasts before our podcast. It wasn’t until I started producing my own, when I started to listen to others. I did become familiar with other podcasts with a similar format as ours, so I could imagine what ours could be like and draw inspiration from. I’m actually currently listening to Archetypes by Meghan Markle and I love it. I love the stories, the messages, the lessons and the production of it – it’s incredible.

Why did you decide to start podcasting in the first place?

In a world where Muslim women are misrepresented and authenticity is lacking, we wanted to build a platform that enables deeper human connections between Muslim women.

Our platform is grounded in the practice of Islam as a way of life. The principles and ethics of the Islamic faith are the core of our content creation guiding how we aim to shift perspectives and culture and build community founded on good moral character.

Change is fostered by authentic stories, and can only be built on a basis of empathy. Empathy inspires us to take positive action and cooperate in good together.

Which podcasts do you take inspiration from?

The podcast came together after our executive Muna Scekomar who was a former intern for NPR’s Terrible, Thanks for Asking, now as the founder of Beautiful Light Studios she was inspired by the ethos of the show and the work and the stories she got to produce. Similar to our podcast, TTFA deals with death, loss and coming through trauma with love and humor. We wanted TDS to approach Muslim women stories with a raw display of vulnerability, a healthy dose of empathy and deeper understanding of how faith has been a guiding principle and support for our guests.

Who’s your dream guest for the podcast?

I don’t know if be a dream guest, but rather I am chasing a dream story. Our podcast is really dedicated to telling stories of seemingly ordinary people with extraordinary stories. We hope to continue to tell stories that diversify and challenge societal norms of what media has commonly depicted Muslim women. Our dream guest essentially is anybody with a story that’s rooted in truth and authenticity.

What’s the biggest lesson you’ve learnt so far as a podcaster?

I can’t be afraid of telling my own story as a host, and that perfection is not attainable. And maybe that’s the point. I’ve learned that my imperfection as host is part of the authenticity that I’m trying to invite from others. When I’ve embraced my own ugly, mistakes and truth, I’ve been able to encourage other women to come forward with their stories.

Which episode would you say is the perfect introduction to your podcast?

“The WallFlower ” was my debut podcast episode of my story. I was very nervous to do it as I was afraid of sharing my truth and what the potential consequences could be. But I knew if I wanted to share the kind of stories I was looking for from Muslim women, I had to lead by example. I had to take the leap first.

Where can the Pod Bible readers find out more about you?

You can keep up with us on Instagram @thedigitalsisterhood or our website thedigitalsisterhood.com.

Listen to The Digital Sisterhood now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and other popular podcast apps.