Amazing glimpse into ordinary yet extraordinary lives
Guardian staff Na'ima B Robert editor of Sisters Magazine
<p><strong>Na'ima B Robert:</strong> It is refreshing to see individual Muslim women being asked the questions for a change, says <strong>Na'ima B Robert</strong></p>
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the Guardian
As a Muslim woman in the UK, I am used to my voice not being heard. I am used to people making assumptions, making judgments, making light of the values I hold dear.

Believe it or not, there are many Muslim women like me, frustrated at the ignorance and bias that so often accompany our society's attempts to address any issue surrounding Islam and, in particular, Muslim women.

That is just one of the reasons why this survey is so refreshing. Somehow it manages to be both ordinary and extraordinary. Ordinary in the sense that the questions we asked were about daily life, about human details, details that, while making up the majority of our lives, rarely hit the headlines. It is also extraordinary in its size compared with previous surveys, the response we received and the value of those responses - to us as individuals, as businesses, as a community and as a society.

It is refreshing to see individual Muslim women being asked the questions for a change. We didn't ask community leaders or spokespersons or organisations.

I love the fact that Islam is still central to our values. I love the fact that we still believe in finding our soulmate and that marriage and children are important, in the face of high divorce rates and a general move away from marriage. I love the fact that we are making our mark, either in employment, as students or full-time mothers, in spite of the dire statistics about low achievement among Muslims. I love the fact that we cook fresh meals and eat out, that we entertain at home and travel abroad, that we embrace hijab and shop on the high street. I love that we are so ordinary, and yet so extraordinary.

When we launched Sisters Magazine, we coined the phrase 'fabulous Muslim women'. I am so grateful to the fabulous, ordinary-extraordinary women who offered us a glimpse into their lives.