Feminism: A global advocacy of social and political equality for all human beings regardless of their gender, age, religion, race and nationality.
By now, we’ve all heard of the name ‘Bahar Mustafa’ – the “Diversity Officer” of a British university who infamously banned white people and men from attending a so-called “anti-racism” event. Mustafa defended her racist and sexist attitude by claiming she can be neither racist nor sexist because of her “ethnic minority” status.
To be clear, Mustafa used Feminism as a front to push her racist and sexist bile and later justified her abuse by erroneously defining racism and sexism to suit her convenience. For those post-modern Western feminists who have a hard time deciphering what “Racism” actually is – it’s not defined by personal financial, social and political authority – Racism is solely measured by contemptuous attitudes toward the skin colour and geography of persons and is perpetuated through racial hostility from the poorest to the wealthiest of citizens from across the globe.
When Mustafa’s belligerence was met with the backlash it very well deserved – she garnered support from other pseudo feminists who defended her blatant racism and sexism by regurgitating not only her “as an ethnic minority….” nonsense, but also cited “free speech”. Apparently, she’s a knight in shining armour who merely tried to create a “safe space” for blacks and ethnic minorities by using the hashtag “#KillAllWhiteMen” and racist slurs like “white trash”. This new breed of unicorns are flaunting their new-age racism and sexism as Feminism and feeding the anti-feminist and misogynistic trolls that fuel the invalidation of authentic Feminism.
Those who proudly support Mustafa reek with narcissism just like their dear leader – the stench of their abuse has proceeded across oceans and infected the eagerly awaiting unicorns hungry for the opportunism necessary to utilize their phantom victimhood to justify their own racist/sexist behaviours. Bahar Mustafa is an illustration of what fanning the flames of racism/sexism looks like – her attitude is not one which Feminism endorses – she is, however, a representation of opportunism – and I’m an ethnic minority woman, so you can’t hold it against me for being critical of her!
I don't “#supportbaharmustafa” because as an ethnic minority who survived genocide – I find her racism and sexism immeasurably nauseating. To associate my identity as an ethnic minority to justify the very societal abuse [which she promotes against whites/men] that rained bombs and bullets over my people will never be forgiven. Being an ethnic minority does not magically blockade the contempt that influences racism and sexism in people – we people of colour are not immune from attitudes resonating from cultural, religious and racial bigotry just because some white people happen to be racists in the West – to even entertain such logic is obtuse. In fact – people of colour in the East are profoundly more abusive against racial minorities than the Western world.
Opportunism arrives in many forms when selfish people feel like crying over their irrational hurt feelings – kind of like the outrage over the Game of Thrones episode. Western feminists rallied in honour of Sansa Stark unlike any victim of real life sexual violence! I was rather amused by the weeping and wailing and the oaths of never tuning into the show ever again – because while pseudo feminism outraged over a fictional character’s trauma, real-life women and girls were being raped in Nigeria by Boko Haram for many months now, and by the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, among other real life events of gender-based violence like the shooting of Mutlu Kaya. And yet, not a single word of outrage trended for these victims. The freedom of expression is being systematically denied to women and girls worldwide but Western [pseudo] feminists couldn’t for one moment get a sense of priority and use their “free speech” to address these daily abuses.
Women like Malina Suliman from Afghanistan literally risk their lives to express their right to free speech and equality under the tyrannical rule of the religious extremists, the Taliban. Afghanistan is a place where women and girls are sentenced to jail or murdered for “moral crimes” such as refusing the hijab/burqa or being assertive with their fundamental human rights by rejecting obedience to their husband or relatives.
Can you fathom the 21st century, where freedom of expression is yet to be secured for females anywhere on earth? A woman/girl cannot express her real-life distress and abuse without being accused of “talking too much” or “dishonouring the family” or “being a bitch”. A girl cannot even attend school to express her intelligence because that too “offends” the mainstream Patriarchy that continues to dehumanize them. When the Taliban shot Malala Yousafzai who advocated for universal education for all children, including girls – not only was she accused of being a Zionist agent and American spy, among other delusional accusations – I had witnessed many Western feminists join the shaming by calling her “white washed” and “Islamophobic”.
Many of the domestic violence cases where men batter their girlfriend, wife or daughters, are rooted in the misogyny that denies Free Speech for females as well. If women/girls object or address their opinions in matters – suddenly Patriarchy gets spasms of triggers that outrage its ego and so the hand is raised to turn its victim black and blue. Mutlu Kaya was allegedly shot by none other than her own [ex] boyfriend because Kaya pursued singing against his wishes, as a contestant in a Turkish television show known as Sesi Cok Guzel. Entertainment is a forbidden industry, especially for women/girls as it is culturally and religiously frowned upon in the Muslim and a great majority of the Eastern world – a sentiment that is closely echoed by many male intimate partners. And for those thinking how this could be an isolated incident – there are plenty of women and girls who were murdered by an intimate partner and men who just couldn’t tolerate female independence. I had previously detailed my points on violence against women and girls.
The censorship of Free Speech for women and girls goes hand in hand with misogyny and sexism. One of the well noted and earliest examples from history that persecuted women for their freedom of expression is Hypatia, a well famed name in mathematics and astronomy. Alas, a woman who is evident of intellectual complexity was a threat to the patriarchal society and so she paid the ultimate price for expressing herself – her life. There are many theories regarding her murder – some say she was stoned to death, others say she endured enormous torture like mutilation and being flayed alive – but we’ll never know the absolute truth except that Hypatia was silenced for merely applying Free Speech to her daily life.
A woman in the Muslim world must fear even a visit to her own relatives’ house without the permission of her husband, like Shabana Bibi, who was murdered by her husband for precisely that reason. Imagine living a life where you cannot express that that life is your own…? Such scale of gender-apartheid denies fundamental human rights for all women/girls at one point or another.
Even in crisis, women/girls can’t express their right to life – like the case of the Rohingya. While both men and women are fleeing on boats, the men rape the women/girls who are also fleeing the same genocide. How does one process such horror without erupting in rage? People want justice for the Rohingya which is long overdue but who will give justice for the Rohingya women/girls raped by their own brethren…?
Women/girls are told they can only express their identity through the approval of Patriarchy. While genuine feminists vocally express the gender-based issues plaguing the world – anti-feminists threaten their lives and even promote violence to silence them. There is very little difference between the Islamists like the Kouachi brothers who attacked Charlie Hebdo and the men who batter their wives/girlfriends/daughters – as both groups of men assault people who practice their right to Free Speech.
So between Bahar Mustafa and team-Sansa Stark vs. the multiple examples of real life issues that women and girls require emancipation from – I give my support to the latter cause. As for those in solidarity to people like Mustafa and fictional characters – you have your right to express yourselves – I will fight to secure you that right. And if your expressions are ostentatious and vile – I will practice my right to Free Speech and call you out on your bulls**t because I have my priorities straight; Humanism will always trump tribalism.
One day, maybe centuries after I am long dead and turned to dust, women and girls will wear a hijab because it represents something other than the fetishization of female modesty and we'll have the right to free speech and expression without facing consequences from the glares of Patriarchy – maybe one day, religion will actually mean peace and will not endorse anti-LGBTQ sentiments, racism, sexism, violence and misogyny. But until that day – as a woman, as a daughter – as a human being – I have a fundamental duty to lambast Patriarchy – and those who adopt its values to enforce their own bigotry.