Skip To Content
JEWISH. INDEPENDENT. NONPROFIT.
Life

The Feminist Hipster Muslim Series You Didn’t Know You Were Waiting For

Shopping for vibrators, reverse catcalling, detox cleanses — all set in the environs of Brooklyn? It may sound like an episode of “Broad City” but this comedic duo may be even edgier than Abbi and Ilana. The web series which began its second season this month, follows the adventures of Shugufta and Fatima, “two Hijabis on a quest to reconcile their long held cultural beliefs with a new life in ‘liberated’ Brooklyn.”

The series is the brainchild of comedians Radhika Vaz and Nadia Manzoor, who also star in the show. Vaz and Manzoor, who are of Pakistani and Indian descent respectively, view the series as a way to challenge the stereotypes of Muslim women in America.

“At the end of the day it is simply about two friends who happen to be Hijabis,” says Vaz. “My reason for coming up with the character was simply because I was horrified by the stereotypes of women in general and of women from cultures like mine in particular. As an actor and comedian I enjoy sinking into a character that is so different from who I am yet someone I could have easily been.”

Another Muslim web series, comedian Aasif Mandvi’s “Halal In The Family” also launched this month. But where “Halal” is earnest and heavy-handed, “Shugs and Fats,” is bawdy and unwieldy.

But despite the dirty jokes, “Shugs & Fats” is a keen lens into the challenge of balancing religious identity and cultural assimilation. In fact one could easily compare the hijabi clad duo with their sheitel wearing counterparts in Williamsburg. I smell spin off.

Republish This Story

Please read before republishing

We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines. You must credit the Forward, retain our pixel and preserve our canonical link in Google search.  See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs.

To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Please email us at [email protected], subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up.

We don't support Internet Explorer

Please use Chrome, Safari, Firefox, or Edge to view this site.