The Digital Sisterhood

My very first impression of The Digital Sisterhood was, “Okay, these guys have a great graphic designer.” The podcast link, shared to me by a friend, featured a striking illustration of three Muslim women, vibrant typography, and colours that captured my attention. 

Judging a book by its cover is often disappointing, but in this case, I continued to be impressed with the quality and depth of what I discovered. As a popular online collective dedicated to Muslim women, I’d heard friends raving about the TDS community and the powerful stories shared on its popular podcast series.

Some time later, members from the team happened to be visiting Sydney, and I invited them to our studio for a coffee and chat. We struck up a wonderful conversation, and I was moved by the vision and dedication of the Sisterhood.

Although fairly early in their journey, it’s clear how the platform represents a global energy and momentum that connects people in transformative ways. I was curious to learn more about the background and story of the team, and their unique journey at the intersection of creativity and spirituality.         

“In this thing we call life, human existence is best understood and recorded as stories that emerge as vibrant threads, weaving together the fabric of our collective experiences. 

They are more than mere narratives; they are portals to realms where events unfold, experiences bloom, and ideas dance in the theatre of imagination and truth. Characters step onto the stage of existence, amidst settings both familiar and fantastical, navigating plots that ripple with intrigue and emotion. 

Regardless of context, whether rooted in religious tradition, cultural heritage, or personal narrative, stories carry the weight of experience and wisdom, offering insights into the complexities of the human condition. Across diverse cultures and epochs, stories have been instrumental in maintaining the collective memory of societies, ensuring that the triumphs, struggles, and pivotal moments of history are not forgotten. Through oral tradition, written literature, visual arts, and other mediums, narratives of courage, resilience, love, and loss are passed down from generation to generation. 

Stories have the power to change the world. How do I know? It is through the stories of the Qu’ran that we know of the greatest people who walked the earth and changed it for the better.

So what of The Digital Sisterhood’s story? Like many others, COVID played a significant role, making us think about the story of our lives. During this time questions emerged such as 'do I like myself?', 'what am I doing with my life?', and the daunting but real 'who am I?’

For our CEO, Cadar Mohamud, this particular story came to being after years of personal struggle as she strove to find herself and build her faith during her 20s. Her experience reflected a universal one: That when a Muslim finds themselves settled with their faith, they realise the rest of the world isn’t as accepting or open to living based on true belief. 

We all feel a longing to find our place in the world with those who feel what we feel, and as Cadar became increasingly conscious of herself as a Black Muslim Woman, her unique experiences in this intersectionality made her more aware of the lack of stories from this perspective. 

She also noticed that when we were being listened to by those outside of our communities, we were only being affirmed through the limited beliefs they told us about ourselves. Even worse is that over time we started to believe them. 

The integrity, truth and authenticity of our stories were being compromised, as was the idea that we couldn’t exist in multitudes. And so Cadar was left with a question she couldn't answer on her own: ‘How do we combat these internalised ideas about ourselves and the self-fulfilling prophecies that relegated us to stereotypes and the status quo?’ 

The solution for her was simple — storytelling. What if she told as many authentic stories as she could? Would she be able to change their minds? 

And if she could change their minds, could she then change the stories they tell themselves? And if she could do that, then maybe she could convince others to change the way they show up, making them active participants in their own stories. And if she could do that, could we then encourage others to accept and own their truths, leading to action and ultimately to change?

And so with this ‘aha’ moment, Cadar shared her own story. A story that would later open doors for others to join her and share theirs too. She began to enlist the help of women who believed in this cause from across the world, cultivating a global sisterhood — ‘The Digital Sisterhood’. 

This was a place where these stories could exist honestly, openly, and with love. It’s been four years since that dream started with 66 stories, told across five seasons, from Muslim women from all walks of life. Many of them gained traction and global interest for the mere fact that we humanised their experiences. Experiences that far too often were seen as taboo to talk about like mental well-being, complex family dynamics, single parenthood, grief, loss, love, friendship, faith, and more. 

By sharing these stories, Cadar and the TDS team have created a sanctuary for Muslim women where they are understood, uplifted, and empowered to share their truth. 

In the process, we’ve been featured on Spotify billboards, won awards, been featured in Cosmopolitan Arabia and Buzzfeed, but more importantly, we’ve been able to connect with sisters all over the world; affirming each other's experiences and dismantling the narrative that success can only be achieved by following a normative and Godless path.

With faith at the centre of it all, we are reminded one story at a time of the ways in which we are able to hold onto the rope of Allah. In Surah Ali-Imran, ayah 102-104 we can extract a pattern for a group to succeed. 

Allah says,

'And hold firmly together to the rope of Allah and do not be divided. Remember Allah’s favour upon you when you were enemies, then He united your hearts, so you — by His grace — became brothers. And you were at the brink of a fiery pit and He saved you from it. This is how Allah makes His revelations clear to you, so that you may be rightly guided.’

‘Let there be a group among you who call others to goodness, encourage what is good, and forbid what is evil — it is they who will be successful.'

First, we live a life based on the consciousness of Allah, then come together joined by the bond of faith, and a collective will rise that calls to goodness and away from evil. This is the recipe for creating a platform that succeeds in reaching every corner of the world. This is what it takes to design, to code by Allah’s metrics of community, sisterhood, and remembrance.”

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