The Othered Woman: How White Feminism Harms Muslim Women
In this edition of 'Eyb, I speak to Libyan British journalist Shahed Ezaydi about her upcoming book
Welcome back to ‘Eyb, my newsletter in which I write frankly about topics I used to be told were shameful, or ‘eyb, while growing up as a young Arab woman. I also share what I am working on, as well as my reading, viewing, and listening recommendations.
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In this edition I am speaking to Libyan British journalist, former deputy editor of aurelia, and author of upcoming book, The Othered Woman: How White Feminism Harms Muslim Women.
Shahed is currently crowdsourcing for the publication of her book by Unbound. For those of you who haven’t heard of Unbound, it’s a crowdfunding publisher that has published many brilliant books that focus on and explore race, sexuality, gender, and social justice, such as Cut from the Same Cloth? Muslim Women on Life in Britain edited by Sabeena Akhtar, Gender Euphoria edited by Laura Kate Dale, and Razia by Abda Khan.
In order for The Othered Woman to be published, Shahed needs to secure enough pledges - sort of like pre-orders. There are different levels of pledges, some that come with additional perks and freebies, but regardless of which pledge you select, your name will be published in the book as one of its patrons (and you get your own copy once it is released). It’s an exciting system in which you are making a direct contribution towards writers getting their work published, and you make an impact on the world of literature.
The Othered Woman is a collection of essays that explores how white feminism has caused more harm than good to Muslim women worldwide. For decades we have felt that the white feminist movement has excluded us because of its belief that the practice of our faith is not compatible with its values and standards, and we have been boxed into this stereotype of being women that need their help in being liberated.
I have known Shahed for a while - she is a brilliant writer and editor, whose features on race, religion, politics, gender, and social issues make for eye-opening and enlightening reads.
I feel lucky to have been able to talk to her about The Othered Woman and what we can expect to learn from her book!
So Shahed, did you feel there was a particular need to write The Othered Woman?
If I'm being honest, I wish this kind of book already existed in the world and I find it both baffling and interesting that a book that investigates the relationship between gendered Islamophobia and white feminism has only been commissioned in 2022.
I don't think we can begin to talk about and analyse gendered Islamophobia without talking about white feminism and the harm it has and continues to cause Muslim women around the world. I want this book to serve as a foundation and a tool to both gain a better insight into the insidious nature of white feminism and to learn more about the lives and experiences of Muslim women across the world.
Can you explain, in a nutshell, how white feminism affects Muslim women?
White liberal feminism has long treated Muslim women as both invisible - by actively excluding them from women’s liberation movements, and hypervisible - with the near-obsession of liberating or ‘saving’ them. And both harm Muslim women. People are quick to comment on the rights of Muslim women in the Global South, which tend to be rooted in racist and Islamophobic stereotypes, without ever actually speaking to Muslim women about their wants and needs. Our rights are always discussed, dissected, and held to the ideals of white Western womanhood. But when was the last time we were asked how we felt? What is it that we want?
It is a feminism that places Muslim women into a box of silence, submissiveness, and oppression, and if we do not fit into that box, then we are not following their vision and so are not real ‘feminists’. To white feminists, we are simply a symbol that can be called upon whenever needed to further their own agenda.
As a movement, liberal feminism dates back to the 19th century. How far back will The Othered Woman examine the effects of white feminism on Muslim women?
There will be a significant amount of historical analysis throughout the chapters, particularly when looking at gendered Islamophobia within the international and European context. For example, the unveiling ceremonies that used to happen in Algeria in the 1950s are analysed when looking into liberation politics and how white feminism contributed to how the veil became the political symbol it is today.
Another example is the rhetoric used by the British in Egypt when justifying and legitimising their colonial rule of the country. This was famously summarised in the words of Lord Cromer, the British consul general in Egypt from 1883 to 1907. He viewed Islam and Muslims as inferior, but his condemnation was most violent on the subject of how Islam treated women. But Cromer was no feminist. In fact, he founded the Men’s League for Opposing Women’s Suffrage, a group which tried to stop women in the UK getting the vote. His views of Islam and Muslim women, long reinforced by white feminism, were simply to legitimise the violent British presence in Egypt.
From the extensive amount of research you have done for your book, have you concluded that a woman can be both Muslim and a feminist?
Muslim women can absolutely be feminists, if anything, we should be. Islam not only gives us a multitude of rights as women but encourages us to learn about and actively fight for these rights, and we have been doing so for centuries. Muslim women are not weak. We are not submissive. And we are not constantly oppressed. We are more than just the stereotypes given to us by the West and the white feminist gaze. We are not symbols to be used to score political points, and we are definitely not waiting to be freed or saved. Instead, we stand and fight for our own rights and liberation, on our own terms.
It's not Islam that confines us, but other oppressive forces such as colonialism, imperialism, and capitalism, and until white feminists can see where the true oppression lies, they will always be reproducers of those very oppressive forces.
Image courtesy of Shahed Ezaydi
What I’ve been listening to…
Image from bbc.co.uk
It’s been a busy time with the World Cup in Qatar kicking off at the end of this week, and I’ve been very selective about which media outlets I will speak to about the guardianship system and women’s rights, as I am aware of many British and European news outlets which have an agenda; some have been fabricating information about Qatar, (e.g. that you can’t hold hands with your husband there), and have been framing things in an Islamophobic and Orientalist manner. While I am all about highlighting and addressing human rights abuses, particularly as someone who calls for the abolishment of guardianship laws, there is a way to do it which should be nuanced, and which should encourage and foster discussion and change.
The BBC has been providing thoroughly researched, nuanced, and balanced coverage of Qatar in terms of its culture and human rights issues, and I enjoyed taking part in Salma El Wardany’s BBC World Service radio documentary, The Real Lives of Doha’s Housewives, which you can listen to again on BBC Sounds.
Salma El Wardany and I also spoke about her documentary, the way guardianship laws affect different women, women’s rights in Islam, and the media coverage of Qatar on BBC Radio 4. Listen back to our interview here.
What I’ve been reading…
It’s been six months since Al Jazeera correspondent Shireen Abu Akleh was murdered in Jenin by the Israeli Occupation Forces. Farah Kanaan interviewed Palestinian journalist Shatha Hanaysha, who was with Shireen when she died. A moving interview. Read Journalist witness to Shireen Abu Akleh’s murder vows to ‘honor’ her legacy.
The crackdown and persecution of the queer community in Qatar is a reality and not a fabrication. I personally had a male gay Qatari friend as a teenager who had been arrested, lashed, had his hair shaven, and subjected to a forced anal examination (this was around 2006). However, when Peter Tatchell staged his one-man protest in Doha recently after telling the local LGBTQ+ community that he wouldn’t, he caused more harm to the local queer community than good. Read I’m a queer Qatari: Think twice before you come to my country to protest the World Cup, and Shannon Power’s Why Some LGBT Qataris Don’t Want Westerners Protesting for Their Rights.
Finally, if you like my work, how about supporting me by buying a copy of my semi-autobiographical novel, Hijab and Red Lipstick? Based on my life growing up in Qatar, Hijab and Red Lipstick is about what it is like to grow up as a young woman under the Gulf guardianship system.