Rounding up July's Reviews..

July has had many moments.. both for Daughters and for the literary world in general..

Daughters are Diamonds has made the Top Ten Best Sellers List with Fascination Books - Savannah, Al-Huda Books and Iqrah Agencies. Aside from the reporter.co.za and MV articles, Daughters also features in the African Perspectives media, Brunei Times and Al-Qalam. Channel Islam International aired an hour long review session on 15 July with a fabulous engaged response from listeners, and six complimentary copies were distributed to callers. On 28 July, I was invited to showcase and present Daughters are Diamonds at the Conference for United Muslim Women in Southern Africa; its theme being relevant to the scope of the Daughters research: Contemporary challenges facing women. The event was commendable and held at The University of Pretoria. Guest speakers included Mrs Fatima Allie, Mrs Zuleikha Mayet, Mrs Lubna Nadvi of UKZN, Wiesahl Agerdien Domingo of Wits Universities Law School, Prof Hoosen (Jerry) Coovadia of KZN, and Zuleikha Adam of the core womens group in Gauteng. A range of topics were covered including issues of abuse, muslim personal law and legislation on traditional marriages and legitimacy statuses of children born in traditional marriages; marriage contracts, inheritance according to shariah versus SA state policies among others. The event was supported by the Cultural desk of the Iranian embassy and covered by Iranian TV and I-TV. Look out for upcoming August launches as well as more reviews. Next up: A Showcasing with Unisa Press at UNISA Womens Day celebrations in coalition with the Institute for Gender Studies.