Lamya H.

Lamya H. says she came to her politics “through feminism and challenging the patriarchy – from big things like sexual harassment to small things like, why does my brother not have to do a fair share of chores?” She describes herself as non- binary womanish “as an homage to how I learned to fight. This is what I aspire to do with my writing: fight racism, Islamophobia, homophobia, transphobia and others. I learned to do this by being raised [as] a girl.” Her memoir Hijab Butch Blues dives deep into juxtaposing her own queerness with the familiar stories from the Quran as a way to make space for both in her life. A former Lambda Literary Fellow, Lamya tells GO the most rewarding aspect of her work is hearing from people about the ways her writing resonates with them. “I wrote my memoir for people who didn’t grow up with models for how to live, and it’s been such an honor to see people connect with my writing.” Why? Because other writers impacted them in the same way. “Audre Lorde’s writing – Sister Outsider, in particular – taught me so much about being a queer person of color in the world…I learned so much: how to carve out a life for myself that felt true to who I was. And how to write: in ways that feel both personal and political at the same time.” In addition to her memoir, you can find her writing in Vice, Salon, Vox, and other places. –SS