Zara Kay

Zara Kay (birthday: November 12) is a Tanzanian Ex-Muslim activist, and the founder of .
==Personal life==
Zara was born in Tanzania, and raised as a strict Shia Muslim. Her mother is Kenyan, and Zara also has Indian, Afghani, and Nigerian ancestry. Zara has five siblings. She began wearing a hijab at the age of 8, and questioned her faith from an early age. At the age of 12, she asked her mother if she could remove her hijab. Her mother replied that Zara’s father would never allow it, and Zara would have to wait until marriage. Zara stopped praying at 14, as she “didn’t like the idea of a sadistic god.” She took issue with intolerance toward LGBTQ rights, sexism, and beliefs such as miracles. At the age of 18, she left Islam, and moved to Australia shortly afterwards.
She first came out to her parents as an atheist in 2017, and still has “a lovely relationship” with her family. Her four year-old niece drowned in January 2017.
Zara gained a Master’s degree at the age of 21. She attended . She lived in Malaysia for three years.
Zara is an organ donor, and wants to donate her body to science. Zara understands Swahili. Zara has worked with Rohingya Muslims in Malaysia, and taught English to Muslim refugees in the UK. In 2020, she started an initiative to collect donations to help orphanages and disability schools in Tanzania.
She suffers from anxiety.
===Arrest===
In 2020, Zara visited Tanzania to attend a family emergency. When she began to fear for her safety, Zara asked for the assistance of The Australian high commission in Nairobi. She emailed the embassy to inform them that she had received threats of rape and death. In a phone conversation, Zara was advised to go to the local police. She did not do this, as she was targeted due to her opposition to the local government.
Nothing happened for another two months. On December 28, she was told by Tanzanian authorities to attend a police station in the city of Dar es Salaam, after being reported for blasphemy. Without any official charge, she was detained for 36 hours. Zara was interrogated and had her belongings confiscated. Her passport was allegedly “lost.” Zara alleges she was threatened with a prison sentence, and sexually harassed by a police officer. Officially, she was detained for failing to return her Tanzanian passport upon gaining Australian citizenship, and using a SIM card not registered in her name. She was questioned over a satirical social media post, which criticised the Tanzanian President’s handling of COVID-19. Her Tanzanian lawyer colluded with the authorities, and lied about the loss of her passport. One of the police officers admitted to taking a bribe from “somebody from the community.”
After being released, she was further questioned further, and threatened with criminal charges. Zara was not allowed to leave Tanzania for a further two months, and had to quit her job in London. She suffered from PTSD.
She eventually flew home to Brisbane, arriving on March 4, 2021. Zara was indebted by around $35,000. She attempted to sue Tanzania via the United Nations.
In June 2021, the case was mentioned in a report on Nonbelievers in Africa by the .
====Cheesecake====
A Twitter user known as Yasmine took screenshots of a private group chat working towards Zara’s release. She reportedly shared it in “an attempt to humiliate Zara.” One of the screenshots contained the phrase “She had cheesecake after her release,” and some Muslims “stepped in calling her all sorts of names while trying to make it look like [Zara’s supporters] lied about the whole situation.” Zara’s supporters responded by “officially crowning Zara “the cheesecake queen.”” They held an online “Cheesecake party,” using #ZaraCheeseKayK.
==Faithless Hijabi==
Faithless Hijabi was founded in October 2018. The organization helps those leaving or questioning Islam, which is dangerous in many countries. Zara has stated that “The name is meant to be controversial.”
As part of her work, Zara listens to the stories of Ex-Muslims, and shares them on social media. Faithless Hijabi have established a Discord community, that ensures the anonymity of members, enabling women to express themselves freely. They support women from abusive backgrounds, by guiding them to relevant organizations. They have an online mental health programme, and are partnered with a specialist UK clinic. Faithless Hijabi also support menstrual health for women and girls in Tanzania. The organization has merchandise and a Facebook page.
===YouTube===
Zara uploaded her first video, Zara Kay - #ExMuslim - Why I left Islam, on February 5, 2019.
Support Corner is a weekly 30 minute series of Zara and Ghada Alkhars discussing commonly asked questions from Ex-Muslims. They occasionally interview subject matter experts, and other Ex-Muslims, on specific topics. Zara and Ghada speak from experience discussing what has helped them.
==References==
Category:Commentary YouTubers
Category:Tanzanian YouTubers
Category:Users who joined in 2013