Media Associate, Security and Rights
Firdaus Arastu is a Media Associate with the Security and Rights Collaborative, where she works on its newest project focused on the role of arts and culture in promoting positive Muslim American voices and stories as a means of increasing understanding between Muslim and non-Muslim communities and combatting prejudice.
Firdaus comes to ReThink from altMuslimah magazine, where she wrote on issues of gender and American Muslim culture. She also wrote for Winnovating, highlighting the contributions of women innovators from around the world. Prior to that, Firdaus worked in the Global Health and Development program at the Aspen Institute and conducted public health research for Wells for India.
Firdaus holds a B.S. in Anthropology and Psychology from Syracuse University. She researched and co-authored the chapter, “American Muslim Women and Faith-Inspired Activism,” in Feminism and Religion: How Faiths View Women and Their Rights (2016). She provided research assistance for “American Muslims, American Islam, and the American Constitutional Heritage,” published in Religious Freedom in America (2015). In addition to her writing at altMuslimah, her work has been published in Al Jazeera English, The Huffington Post, and The Tribune India. Firdaus enjoys baking, traveling, cheering on her Syracuse Orange, and racking up Tough Mudder headbands.