Muslim women speaking up against violence are silenced. We must amplify their voices

Last edited Tue Jan 2, 2018, 03:01 PM - Edit history (1)

Muslim women speaking up against violence are silenced. We must amplify their voices



It’s telling that many Muslim men deal with Islamophobia by policing the voices of Muslim women instead of addressing the legacy of patriarchal violence

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‘Casting Muslim women activists as villains who air the dirty laundry of communities by speaking publicly against injustices speaks to this twisted hierarchy of issues’ Photograph: Justin Tallis/AFP/Getty Images



Muslim women inhabit a uniquely marginalised space in a world where the existence of rampant Islamophobia both disregards their voices in the wider world and is also used to justify silencing their voices within Muslim communities – by prioritising the issue of anti-Muslim racism over the struggle against patriarchal oppressions. Last year I wrote about the honour killing of a Pakistani social media celebrity, Qandeel Baloch. Within hours, the article received a barrage of comments, ranging from extremely Islamophobic to people proclaiming articles such as mine promote anti-Muslim racism and therefore shouldn’t be written.

This reaction is familiar to many Muslim women who speak out, write, or activate in public spaces against the patriarchal oppressions and violence they face. The active policing of women’s voices inside Muslim communities and the prejudice and racism faced by us outside of our communities contributes to creating exceptionally testing conditions for Muslim women survivors of violence, activists, and allies. The prevalent patriarchal order dictates which forms of violence against Muslims are more urgent and demand activism on our part. Under this order, anti-Muslim racism wins many times over before patriarchal oppressions are even discussed. The system that protects male privilege and gender hierarchies goes into overdrive when the reputation at stake is that of prominent Muslim men, such as clerics.

When Muslim women speak up about this, we are accused of creating theatre. Some people add the helpful reminder that “not all Muslim men” behave like this. I grew up in a majority Muslim country; I know not all Muslim men are sexual predators but I also know that many, many men are – in cultures, communities and countries around the world. So I choose to believe women. Pretending that Muslim women are somehow responsible for Islamophobia if they talk about the violence they face is not just absurd, it is also a glaringly obvious patriarchal power tactic that seeks to prioritise Muslim men and their reputations over women’s issues. When the tactic works, Muslim women and our issues are rendered disposable, and shoved to the back of the line. Casting Muslim women activists as villains who air the dirty laundry of communities by speaking publicly against injustices speaks to this twisted hierarchy of issues that positions Islamophobia over and above the need to address patriarchal oppressions – even creating a narrative that these two are mutually exclusive struggles. The truth is, we must take all of these oppressions equally seriously if we are to address any of them.

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https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/jan/03/muslim-women-speaking-up-against-violence-are-silenced-we-must-amplify-their-voices