The Othered Woman

An astounding insight into how white feminism is intertwined with Islamophobia, and why Muslim women are so often left out of the conversation.

Growing up, journalist Shahed Ezaydi was asked how she could possibly call herself a feminist if she also practised her faith. By treating Muslim women as invisible and excluding them from feminist spaces, or hyper-visible with an obsession of ‘saving’ them, we are perpetuating gendered Islamophobia and white feminism. But Muslim women don’t need to be saved, and religion is not the only form of oppression.

The Othered Woman is the book Ezaydi wishes her younger self could have turned to, to dispel the myths of how Muslim women are oppressed and who by. It shows that these myths translate into very real harm at state level in the UK and globally, and showcases the many intersectional feminists fighting for liberation in their own way. Accessible and compelling, this is urgent reading for anyone who considers themselves a feminist.