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The Othered Woman: How White Feminism Harms Muslim Women
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.
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.
288 pages, Paperback
Published March 20, 2026
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
thoughts
February 15, 2026I’m so excited for this one!!!
May 14, 2026
Such an important book delivered in an accessible and real way. I genuinely think everyone who grew up in the West should read this. Spending seven years as a hijabi, experiencing constant Islamophobia, before taking off the veil as a white-passing person, I've always known very acutely that being able to move through the world in peace is absolutely conditional. How people talk about muslim women in the West and globally is completely insane, based on a lot of misunderstanding and outright propaganda, and this book is a well-informed way for everyone to start unpacking that and learn how to listen.
February 2, 2026
Incredibly well researched, readable, informative - but also full of hope. A must read for any feminist!
June 14, 2026
Fantastic book, lots of really important and incredibly written dissections and analysis of white feminism. Shahed is a really talented writer and I look forward to reading more of her work. I have very little criticisms of this books in terms of its coverage, its layout is thorough and flows really well. However if I were to say anything I would have loved for The Othered Woman to delve more into the capitalist and colonial aspects of white feminism.
May 23, 2026
A fascinating and urgently needed book that lays out in exacting detail how muslim women have been failed by white feminism, often reduced to stereotypes and ignored and over-policed in equal measure.
Shahed Ezaydi writes in clear, eloquent prose, laying out her arguments in precise detail.
Highly recommend for everyone, especially those who view themselves as feminists.
Shahed Ezaydi writes in clear, eloquent prose, laying out her arguments in precise detail.
Highly recommend for everyone, especially those who view themselves as feminists.
July 4, 2026
British-Libyan journalist Shahed Ezaydi looks at how mainstream Western feminism has often failed Muslim women by centering the experiences and priorities of white, middle-class women. Thereby overlooking the intersecting realities of race, religion, colonialism, and Islamophobia.
The book traces the historical roots of these narratives to European colonialism, showing how colonial powers justified imperial rule by claiming to liberate Muslim women. Ezaydi argues that these same assumptions continue to influence modern politics, journalism, and popular culture, where debates around the hijab, women's rights, and Islam often exclude the voices of Muslim women themselves. She argues that genuine feminism must be intersectional, listening to Muslim women rather than speaking for them.
Throughout she references great texts like Edward Said Orientalism, Against White Feminism by Rafia Zakaria and Hood Feminism by Mikki Kendall.
Additionally she uses examples from political initiatives and media coverage from the UK, Europe and the US to highlight and reveal the othering and orientalism behind them.
Well put and needed overview of the topic!
QUOTES:
“White feminism assumes that white women experience misogyny in the same way all women experience misogyny.”
citing Koa Beck: “She goes on to say that 'this dynamic often means that where the needs of women. of colour, disabled women, or Muslim women conflict with that of white supremacy, their needs will be dismissed or subjugated.”
“I intentionally chose the term "white feminism" for my argument because this is an approach to gender equality that ultimately asks you to aspire to whiteness and not equal rights.”
“It's this idea that bringing different people in from different 'diverse' backgrounds is enough to achieve equality and bring about change in our society. This isn't to say thar representation isn't important - it can be a powerful tool - but it's something that's been co-opted by those in power to reinforce existing structures of oppression behind a mask of superficial progress.”
Reel Bad Arabs, Jack Shaheen: three tropes: oppressed wife, oversexualised harem maiden, female terrorist
“With the days of British women having to cover up from the neck to the ankles in the 1890s long gone, women wearing less is viewed as a celebration of the hard-earned liberation won by the generations of old. But this form of womanhood has been exported and imposed on all women all around the world. All women are expected to adhere to this version of white womanhood and feminism, with women who are perceived as rejecting it being branded
'anti-feminists' or even 'woman haters'. And, because white feminists have created and internalised this view, they equate Muslim women covering up with anti-feminism.
This idea that Muslim women are inherently anti-feminist has meant they have been completely excluded from mainstream feminist spaces. And yet Muslim women are also spoken for by white women.”
“The Othering of the Orient has developed into the Othering Sa of Islam and its cultures, with the symbol of the Other most commonly being the Muslim hijabi woman.”
“A problem arises, however, when sex positivity is seen as the only way to be a liberated woman, without any consideration of context. The centring of sex positivity in feminism excludes swathes of other women, erasing their narratives and understandings of sex - including Muslim women.”
“Muslim women will only be free if we are sexually liberated by the white male gaze. A culture that white feminism reinforces every time it questions a Muslim woman's choice to pursue abstinence, dress modestly or to wear the hijab. It's just another environment where white feminism colludes with gen-
"dered Islamophobia to further exclude and dehumanise Muslim women.”
(Riz Ahmed) “Riz Test now (a take on the Bechdel Test) which aims to highlight how Muslims are represented in entertainment media. One of the five compo-ments of the test is whether a male character is presented as misogynistic and, predictably, many of the films and shows mentioned already would fail on this one factor alone.”
“In other words, the hijab is now a political tool and in direct opposition to neutrality. It's not simply a personal religious choice to cover one's hair, but a political statement. Muslim women will now have their bodies controlled by their employers so that customers, clients and colleagues can feel 'comfortable' at work. With legal barriers such as this in place, Muslim women are already shut out of opportunities before they've even set foot in an office.
In a workplace setting, Muslim women face discrimination from the get-go, particularly if they wear a hijab.”
“Rafia Zakaria, author of Against White Feminism, also talked about the similarities between so-called honour killings and femicide more generally:
If you hear of an honour killing happening in Syria or somewhere else, it's framed as this idea that their culture is so bad, it's so inherently un-feminist. When a femicide happens here at home, it's supposed to be an aberration. That's just an unusual, bad thing that happened. The whole reason that cat-egorisation is different is to entrap Black and brown women in the denialism that femicide is not happening here in the United States.”
“When these services tell Muslim women that their abuse was expected, it's harming Muslim women all over again and reinforcing the false belief that domestic violence and honour-based abuse is simply a part of Islam, or even possibly judging them for continuing to practise their faith.
The assumptions made about Muslim women, their relationships and their home lives only harm us and lead to us being treated as less than other women. We must contend with microaggressions such as constantly having to explain That the oppression of women is not a part of Islam. Or defending our male relatives who have been stereotyped as violent or controlling. Or fighting to be included in spaces that we get locked out of because it's assumed our access is controlled by the men in our lives.”
“The "See It, Say It, Sorted campaign has only served to re-establish Muslims as inherent suspects and everyone else as inspectors for the state.”
“However, according to official figures, 87 per cent of Prevent referrals don't meet the criteria for intervention and aren't adopted as Channel cases. Therefore, the policy isn't preventing 'extremism' or
"radicalisation' but simply pulling people into a complex and intimidating system because someone had a 'gut feeling about them. (Prevent training and guidance, indeed, does advise individuals to 'trust their instincts' and 'gut feeling' when making referrals.)”
“For nearly a century, until its independence in 1962, Algeria was ruled by France. Islam was seen as something to be eradicated by France and this formed the basis of their colonial rule. People were denied French citizenship unless they rejected Islamic law.”
Afgahnistan
“The United States' invasion of Afghanistan in 2001 is just one example where the Taliban's brutal treatment of women and the closure of girls' schools were used to justify a US military invasion as well as shutting down any criticism or debate on the matter.”
“The sheer machinery behind contextualising the war on Afghanistan as a feminist one was huge. The US (and is Western allies) wanted the public to think that Afghan women were completely helpless and didn't know any better, that way it becomes a matter of feminism saving its sisters' abroad. But Afghan women weren't helpless. In fact, the Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan (RAWA) was instrumental in bringing international attention to the Taliban's mistreatment of Afghan women. And what did the US do with this attention? It used RAWA's work to justify its imperialist efforts - even when the organisation opposed US interference from the very beginning. They firmly opposed the US bombings and called for the US armed forces to leave the country as well, repeatedly arguing that military policies were being motivated and organised around economic interests (i.e. the oil, arms and drugs industries). Bur, in the eyes of the West, RAWA was only useful for one thing: establishing the narrative that Muslim women needed saving.”
“Twenty years later, Joe Biden's US government announced in 2021 thar American troops would be leaving Afghanistan that August. However, this withdrawal resulted in chaos as the US had not built a long-lasting infrastructure, instead propping up the country using charities and NGOs. The instabil-iy opened the door for the Taliban to take back control of Afghanistan - this time promising that women's rights would be safe. Unsurprisingly, this did not stop many Afghans from evacuating the country. At the time, news channels were flooded with images and videos of Afghan men and women scrambling to get on planes in order to escape the Taliban's regime.
Meanwhile, on social media, a photo of an American evacuation plane seemingly full of Afghan men provoked a public outery. Many commenters suggested the image implied that Afghan men were happy to leave their women compatriots behind, even took it as evidence of Islam's inherent misogyny The Guardian columnist Polly Toynbee tweered:
Notice anything about this picture of people escaping in a US plane? No women ... odd ...? She may have seen a feminist issue amidst the plight of these refugees escaping unimaginable violence, but the reason the plane was full of men was because, in its evacuation efforts, the US priori-tised people - mostly men - who had worked for their government.”
Iraq
“This military intervention was partly framed as the West's attempt to liberate Iraqi women from the evil and tyranny of
*Hussein and Iraqi men in general. But, as with Afghanistan, this rationale didn't consider what would come after the war or what Iraqi women truly wanted and needed. This led to increased violence and the breakdown of communities, making life even harder for many women.”
“The average person picking up a newspaper or reading a news article online and seeing these stereotypical images and comparisons being made will start to believe that. perhaps these wars and military invasions are indeed an act of feminist heroism. And when militarism forms a big part of white feminism, this is no real surprise. “
Iran
“Iran has been an Islamic Republic since 1979, which brought with it strict laws surrounding the hijab and clothing, particularly for women. The brutality of the regime has garnered a lot of international attention - and rightly so.”
“This tactic isn't just reserved for Iran, either. The same side-by-side comparisons have been used when discussing Afghanistan too. Allegedly, it was a black and white photo from 1972 of Afghan women in miniskirts smiling and walking through the streets of Kabul that convinced President Donald Trump in 2017 to recommit to the US occupation of Afghanistan - even though his presidential campaign had included a complete military withdrawal.* This photo is one of the most popular ones used to show what liberated' Afghan women look like, compared to the 'silent and oppressed" burqa-wearing women of today, and has effectively become an anti-Islam meme, especially in far-right spaces.
For Afghans, these images may represent a nostalgia for the past or dreams of a better future, but when they're circulated repeatedly in Western media, they serve a more strategic and coloniat purpose. The use of comparative images suggests that Afghanistan (like Iran) can be Westernised - i.e.liberated - and the Afghan people could be just like us" if Islam didn't exist.”
“These types of images attract attention and clicks and pose two simultaneous thoughts to the viewer: imagining what would have happened in Iran had the 1979 revolution never occurred and what could happen in the West should Iranian and/or Muslim immigrants be allowed to 'spread' their religion and culture. The past is reduced to the length of a woman's skirt. It's the Western lens of womanhood taking hold once again, where women in miniskirts are seen as more liberated and freer than a veiled woman. A womanhood that is constantly pushed by white feminists, especially when war and violence break out in the Middle East and the Global South.”
Palestine
“In 1917, the British government issued the Balfour Declar-ation, a public statement announcing the support for a
'national home for the Jewish people' in Palestine. The state of Israel was founded in May 1948, in the aftermath of the Second World War and the Holocaust, ending previous Brie ish rule in the region of Palestine. This sparked the 1948 Arab-Israeli war, which saw many Arab nations - including Jordan, Lebanon and Egypt - mobilise against the new state of Israel, Around 750,000 Palestinians were expelled from or fled their homes in the region that became Israel. This became known as al-Nakba or the Palestinian Catastrophe. Around 10,000 Jews were also forced to leave their homes in Arab-majority parts of the region. However, berween 1948 and 1951,700,000 Jews immigrated to Israel, mainly into the former Arab parts. Over the following decades, the situation in the region has never really calmed down.
In 1967, Israel overpowered the Arab nations in the Six-Day War and millions of Palestinians were brought under Israeli rule - even though the United Nations passed UN Resolution 242 calling for Israel's withdrawal from the occupied regions. Since 2007, a blockade has been imposed on Gaza by the Israeli state, with the area typically referred to as "the world's largest open-air prison. This strip of land has seen fifteen wars over the last few decades, including the current war and genocide. And yet feminists remain largely quiet.”
“The perceived complexity of the war has meant most Western feminism has opted out of engagement with the Palestinian o struggle in the name of self-declared ignorance or neutrality.”
Muslim Women in Islamic history
“Khadijah bint Khuwaylid was the Prophet's (pbuh) first wife and the first follower of Islam. She was also a successful and wealthy businesswoman in her own right, managing caravans between Mecca, Yemen and Syria. It is believed that Khadijah inherited the business from her father and expanded it using her own skills, with many scholars stating that Khadijah's caravan equalled the caravans of all other traders of the Quraysh put together, In Islam, she became known as the 'mother of believers' and is one of the four "ladies of heaven' - alongside her daughters - and was widely respected by the community for her kindness and generosity, When she married the Prophet (pub), Khadijah supported him both financially and morally and became his closest confidante when he was granted his prophet-hood by Allah.”
“Another influential Muslim woman in our history is Fatima al-Fihri, who founded the world's first and oldest university.
After her father's death, Fatima inherited a large fortune that she used to establish the University of Al-Qarawiyin in Fet, Morocco. Formed in the year 859, the university was named after her birthplace in Tunisia and taught several subjects including astronomy, Quran studies, law, maths, geography and medicine. The university initially started off as a madras-sah but quickly grew into the institution it still is today.”
“We do not need white feminists to speak for us or do the work for us. Instead, we need them to unpack and dismantle their own harmful ways of thinking. and imagine a more hopeful, caring and radical future where we are all liberated and free to live and co-exist.”
The book traces the historical roots of these narratives to European colonialism, showing how colonial powers justified imperial rule by claiming to liberate Muslim women. Ezaydi argues that these same assumptions continue to influence modern politics, journalism, and popular culture, where debates around the hijab, women's rights, and Islam often exclude the voices of Muslim women themselves. She argues that genuine feminism must be intersectional, listening to Muslim women rather than speaking for them.
Throughout she references great texts like Edward Said Orientalism, Against White Feminism by Rafia Zakaria and Hood Feminism by Mikki Kendall.
Additionally she uses examples from political initiatives and media coverage from the UK, Europe and the US to highlight and reveal the othering and orientalism behind them.
Well put and needed overview of the topic!
QUOTES:
“White feminism assumes that white women experience misogyny in the same way all women experience misogyny.”
citing Koa Beck: “She goes on to say that 'this dynamic often means that where the needs of women. of colour, disabled women, or Muslim women conflict with that of white supremacy, their needs will be dismissed or subjugated.”
“I intentionally chose the term "white feminism" for my argument because this is an approach to gender equality that ultimately asks you to aspire to whiteness and not equal rights.”
“It's this idea that bringing different people in from different 'diverse' backgrounds is enough to achieve equality and bring about change in our society. This isn't to say thar representation isn't important - it can be a powerful tool - but it's something that's been co-opted by those in power to reinforce existing structures of oppression behind a mask of superficial progress.”
Reel Bad Arabs, Jack Shaheen: three tropes: oppressed wife, oversexualised harem maiden, female terrorist
“With the days of British women having to cover up from the neck to the ankles in the 1890s long gone, women wearing less is viewed as a celebration of the hard-earned liberation won by the generations of old. But this form of womanhood has been exported and imposed on all women all around the world. All women are expected to adhere to this version of white womanhood and feminism, with women who are perceived as rejecting it being branded
'anti-feminists' or even 'woman haters'. And, because white feminists have created and internalised this view, they equate Muslim women covering up with anti-feminism.
This idea that Muslim women are inherently anti-feminist has meant they have been completely excluded from mainstream feminist spaces. And yet Muslim women are also spoken for by white women.”
“The Othering of the Orient has developed into the Othering Sa of Islam and its cultures, with the symbol of the Other most commonly being the Muslim hijabi woman.”
“A problem arises, however, when sex positivity is seen as the only way to be a liberated woman, without any consideration of context. The centring of sex positivity in feminism excludes swathes of other women, erasing their narratives and understandings of sex - including Muslim women.”
“Muslim women will only be free if we are sexually liberated by the white male gaze. A culture that white feminism reinforces every time it questions a Muslim woman's choice to pursue abstinence, dress modestly or to wear the hijab. It's just another environment where white feminism colludes with gen-
"dered Islamophobia to further exclude and dehumanise Muslim women.”
(Riz Ahmed) “Riz Test now (a take on the Bechdel Test) which aims to highlight how Muslims are represented in entertainment media. One of the five compo-ments of the test is whether a male character is presented as misogynistic and, predictably, many of the films and shows mentioned already would fail on this one factor alone.”
“In other words, the hijab is now a political tool and in direct opposition to neutrality. It's not simply a personal religious choice to cover one's hair, but a political statement. Muslim women will now have their bodies controlled by their employers so that customers, clients and colleagues can feel 'comfortable' at work. With legal barriers such as this in place, Muslim women are already shut out of opportunities before they've even set foot in an office.
In a workplace setting, Muslim women face discrimination from the get-go, particularly if they wear a hijab.”
“Rafia Zakaria, author of Against White Feminism, also talked about the similarities between so-called honour killings and femicide more generally:
If you hear of an honour killing happening in Syria or somewhere else, it's framed as this idea that their culture is so bad, it's so inherently un-feminist. When a femicide happens here at home, it's supposed to be an aberration. That's just an unusual, bad thing that happened. The whole reason that cat-egorisation is different is to entrap Black and brown women in the denialism that femicide is not happening here in the United States.”
“When these services tell Muslim women that their abuse was expected, it's harming Muslim women all over again and reinforcing the false belief that domestic violence and honour-based abuse is simply a part of Islam, or even possibly judging them for continuing to practise their faith.
The assumptions made about Muslim women, their relationships and their home lives only harm us and lead to us being treated as less than other women. We must contend with microaggressions such as constantly having to explain That the oppression of women is not a part of Islam. Or defending our male relatives who have been stereotyped as violent or controlling. Or fighting to be included in spaces that we get locked out of because it's assumed our access is controlled by the men in our lives.”
“The "See It, Say It, Sorted campaign has only served to re-establish Muslims as inherent suspects and everyone else as inspectors for the state.”
“However, according to official figures, 87 per cent of Prevent referrals don't meet the criteria for intervention and aren't adopted as Channel cases. Therefore, the policy isn't preventing 'extremism' or
"radicalisation' but simply pulling people into a complex and intimidating system because someone had a 'gut feeling about them. (Prevent training and guidance, indeed, does advise individuals to 'trust their instincts' and 'gut feeling' when making referrals.)”
“For nearly a century, until its independence in 1962, Algeria was ruled by France. Islam was seen as something to be eradicated by France and this formed the basis of their colonial rule. People were denied French citizenship unless they rejected Islamic law.”
Afgahnistan
“The United States' invasion of Afghanistan in 2001 is just one example where the Taliban's brutal treatment of women and the closure of girls' schools were used to justify a US military invasion as well as shutting down any criticism or debate on the matter.”
“The sheer machinery behind contextualising the war on Afghanistan as a feminist one was huge. The US (and is Western allies) wanted the public to think that Afghan women were completely helpless and didn't know any better, that way it becomes a matter of feminism saving its sisters' abroad. But Afghan women weren't helpless. In fact, the Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan (RAWA) was instrumental in bringing international attention to the Taliban's mistreatment of Afghan women. And what did the US do with this attention? It used RAWA's work to justify its imperialist efforts - even when the organisation opposed US interference from the very beginning. They firmly opposed the US bombings and called for the US armed forces to leave the country as well, repeatedly arguing that military policies were being motivated and organised around economic interests (i.e. the oil, arms and drugs industries). Bur, in the eyes of the West, RAWA was only useful for one thing: establishing the narrative that Muslim women needed saving.”
“Twenty years later, Joe Biden's US government announced in 2021 thar American troops would be leaving Afghanistan that August. However, this withdrawal resulted in chaos as the US had not built a long-lasting infrastructure, instead propping up the country using charities and NGOs. The instabil-iy opened the door for the Taliban to take back control of Afghanistan - this time promising that women's rights would be safe. Unsurprisingly, this did not stop many Afghans from evacuating the country. At the time, news channels were flooded with images and videos of Afghan men and women scrambling to get on planes in order to escape the Taliban's regime.
Meanwhile, on social media, a photo of an American evacuation plane seemingly full of Afghan men provoked a public outery. Many commenters suggested the image implied that Afghan men were happy to leave their women compatriots behind, even took it as evidence of Islam's inherent misogyny The Guardian columnist Polly Toynbee tweered:
Notice anything about this picture of people escaping in a US plane? No women ... odd ...? She may have seen a feminist issue amidst the plight of these refugees escaping unimaginable violence, but the reason the plane was full of men was because, in its evacuation efforts, the US priori-tised people - mostly men - who had worked for their government.”
Iraq
“This military intervention was partly framed as the West's attempt to liberate Iraqi women from the evil and tyranny of
*Hussein and Iraqi men in general. But, as with Afghanistan, this rationale didn't consider what would come after the war or what Iraqi women truly wanted and needed. This led to increased violence and the breakdown of communities, making life even harder for many women.”
“The average person picking up a newspaper or reading a news article online and seeing these stereotypical images and comparisons being made will start to believe that. perhaps these wars and military invasions are indeed an act of feminist heroism. And when militarism forms a big part of white feminism, this is no real surprise. “
Iran
“Iran has been an Islamic Republic since 1979, which brought with it strict laws surrounding the hijab and clothing, particularly for women. The brutality of the regime has garnered a lot of international attention - and rightly so.”
“This tactic isn't just reserved for Iran, either. The same side-by-side comparisons have been used when discussing Afghanistan too. Allegedly, it was a black and white photo from 1972 of Afghan women in miniskirts smiling and walking through the streets of Kabul that convinced President Donald Trump in 2017 to recommit to the US occupation of Afghanistan - even though his presidential campaign had included a complete military withdrawal.* This photo is one of the most popular ones used to show what liberated' Afghan women look like, compared to the 'silent and oppressed" burqa-wearing women of today, and has effectively become an anti-Islam meme, especially in far-right spaces.
For Afghans, these images may represent a nostalgia for the past or dreams of a better future, but when they're circulated repeatedly in Western media, they serve a more strategic and coloniat purpose. The use of comparative images suggests that Afghanistan (like Iran) can be Westernised - i.e.liberated - and the Afghan people could be just like us" if Islam didn't exist.”
“These types of images attract attention and clicks and pose two simultaneous thoughts to the viewer: imagining what would have happened in Iran had the 1979 revolution never occurred and what could happen in the West should Iranian and/or Muslim immigrants be allowed to 'spread' their religion and culture. The past is reduced to the length of a woman's skirt. It's the Western lens of womanhood taking hold once again, where women in miniskirts are seen as more liberated and freer than a veiled woman. A womanhood that is constantly pushed by white feminists, especially when war and violence break out in the Middle East and the Global South.”
Palestine
“In 1917, the British government issued the Balfour Declar-ation, a public statement announcing the support for a
'national home for the Jewish people' in Palestine. The state of Israel was founded in May 1948, in the aftermath of the Second World War and the Holocaust, ending previous Brie ish rule in the region of Palestine. This sparked the 1948 Arab-Israeli war, which saw many Arab nations - including Jordan, Lebanon and Egypt - mobilise against the new state of Israel, Around 750,000 Palestinians were expelled from or fled their homes in the region that became Israel. This became known as al-Nakba or the Palestinian Catastrophe. Around 10,000 Jews were also forced to leave their homes in Arab-majority parts of the region. However, berween 1948 and 1951,700,000 Jews immigrated to Israel, mainly into the former Arab parts. Over the following decades, the situation in the region has never really calmed down.
In 1967, Israel overpowered the Arab nations in the Six-Day War and millions of Palestinians were brought under Israeli rule - even though the United Nations passed UN Resolution 242 calling for Israel's withdrawal from the occupied regions. Since 2007, a blockade has been imposed on Gaza by the Israeli state, with the area typically referred to as "the world's largest open-air prison. This strip of land has seen fifteen wars over the last few decades, including the current war and genocide. And yet feminists remain largely quiet.”
“The perceived complexity of the war has meant most Western feminism has opted out of engagement with the Palestinian o struggle in the name of self-declared ignorance or neutrality.”
Muslim Women in Islamic history
“Khadijah bint Khuwaylid was the Prophet's (pbuh) first wife and the first follower of Islam. She was also a successful and wealthy businesswoman in her own right, managing caravans between Mecca, Yemen and Syria. It is believed that Khadijah inherited the business from her father and expanded it using her own skills, with many scholars stating that Khadijah's caravan equalled the caravans of all other traders of the Quraysh put together, In Islam, she became known as the 'mother of believers' and is one of the four "ladies of heaven' - alongside her daughters - and was widely respected by the community for her kindness and generosity, When she married the Prophet (pub), Khadijah supported him both financially and morally and became his closest confidante when he was granted his prophet-hood by Allah.”
“Another influential Muslim woman in our history is Fatima al-Fihri, who founded the world's first and oldest university.
After her father's death, Fatima inherited a large fortune that she used to establish the University of Al-Qarawiyin in Fet, Morocco. Formed in the year 859, the university was named after her birthplace in Tunisia and taught several subjects including astronomy, Quran studies, law, maths, geography and medicine. The university initially started off as a madras-sah but quickly grew into the institution it still is today.”
“We do not need white feminists to speak for us or do the work for us. Instead, we need them to unpack and dismantle their own harmful ways of thinking. and imagine a more hopeful, caring and radical future where we are all liberated and free to live and co-exist.”
May 8, 2026
A very eye-opening read! It really made me look at myself and all the experiences I had as a Muslim woman 🤔 it's incredibly informative for BOTH Muslims and non-Muslims which I LOVE about this book! It really serves it's purpose and breaks down REAL feminism which many of us instantly associate with 'white feminism', making it a hard subject for many Muslims to approach. This book showed me that Western feminism is not the only feminism and that it is, in fact, very harmful to our communities and the world in general.
This is definitely a must read for Muslims and non-Muslims, females and males looking to make the world a better place, together.
Very good job to the writer!
This is definitely a must read for Muslims and non-Muslims, females and males looking to make the world a better place, together.
Very good job to the writer!
April 12, 2026
"The Othered Woman: How White Feminism Harms Muslim Women" by Shahed Ezaydi is a fantastic primer for anyone who isn't already mired in awareness of feminism, Islamophobia, and racism... and still a great read for those of us who are.
Ezaydi confronts the issue of feminists (she specifies "white feminists," but let's be real, it's basically just mainstream feminism) and their role in perpetuating and in fact justifying the Islamophobia and racism that both Muslim women and men experience. She addresses questions of "oppression," hijab and liberation politics, Islamophobia and UK state violence, feminism and its role in global conflicts, and more.
While I was already very familiar with most of the content discussed, the author's strength is in collecting this discourse from various corners of the internet/ journalism/ academia and putting them all together in one place that you can then hand off to your hella annoying coworker or microaggressively Islamophobic professor. I also did glean several bits of interesting information that I didn't know (like Muslim children in Denmark being required to have a medical excuse form to abstain from eating pork because religious rights aren't acknowledged!).
The one point of criticism that I had was that the author was limited by her own framing of the discourse within a feminist framework, so e.g. when she brings up the infamous Mia Khalifa, she actively tries to abstain on passing judgment on her "hijabi porn" - even though no such pass should be given, seeing as how Khalifa ACTIVELY AND DELIBERATELY exploited fetishes for hijabi/ Muslim women for her own career. Disgusting. There also wasn't enough interrogation into how Malala or Mahsa Amini's stories were more than just "fighting for education" or "fighting against religiously repressive government" - no mention of Malala's positionality as the daughter of a fairly known individual with political corruption attached to his name, or Amini's connection to Kurdish independence movement.
Overall though, I really liked this book and will be keeping it on hand, alongside Nadine Asbali's "Veiled Threat"!
Ezaydi confronts the issue of feminists (she specifies "white feminists," but let's be real, it's basically just mainstream feminism) and their role in perpetuating and in fact justifying the Islamophobia and racism that both Muslim women and men experience. She addresses questions of "oppression," hijab and liberation politics, Islamophobia and UK state violence, feminism and its role in global conflicts, and more.
While I was already very familiar with most of the content discussed, the author's strength is in collecting this discourse from various corners of the internet/ journalism/ academia and putting them all together in one place that you can then hand off to your hella annoying coworker or microaggressively Islamophobic professor. I also did glean several bits of interesting information that I didn't know (like Muslim children in Denmark being required to have a medical excuse form to abstain from eating pork because religious rights aren't acknowledged!).
The one point of criticism that I had was that the author was limited by her own framing of the discourse within a feminist framework, so e.g. when she brings up the infamous Mia Khalifa, she actively tries to abstain on passing judgment on her "hijabi porn" - even though no such pass should be given, seeing as how Khalifa ACTIVELY AND DELIBERATELY exploited fetishes for hijabi/ Muslim women for her own career. Disgusting. There also wasn't enough interrogation into how Malala or Mahsa Amini's stories were more than just "fighting for education" or "fighting against religiously repressive government" - no mention of Malala's positionality as the daughter of a fairly known individual with political corruption attached to his name, or Amini's connection to Kurdish independence movement.
Overall though, I really liked this book and will be keeping it on hand, alongside Nadine Asbali's "Veiled Threat"!
June 7, 2026
This book provides an excellent introduction to the harmful effects that mainstream white middle-class feminism can have on Muslim women and their everyday experiences. The particular strain of feminism discussed here, exemplified in Germany by figures such as Alice Schwarzer, highlights many of the shortcomings that continue to plague parts of the feminist movement today.
Too often, this approach appears superficial and self-referential, centering the concerns and aspirations of a relatively narrow demographic: predominantly white, middle-class, non-Muslim women. In doing so, it frequently overlooks or marginalises the voices and experiences of women from different cultural, religious, and racial backgrounds. At its worst, it can become hypocritical, paternalistic, and even misogynistic in the way it represents and speaks for the very women it claims to support.
A feminism that chooses its causes not according to the severity of the injustices women face, but according to the political, religious, or racial identity of the perpetrators, risks losing its moral credibility. Likewise, a feminism shaped by racial and religious stereotypes, neo-colonial assumptions, and the infantilisation of Muslim women and women of colour deserves critical scrutiny rather than unqualified acceptance.
This book offers a compelling critique of these tendencies and serves as an important contribution to ongoing discussions about inclusion, representation, and solidarity within feminist movements.
Too often, this approach appears superficial and self-referential, centering the concerns and aspirations of a relatively narrow demographic: predominantly white, middle-class, non-Muslim women. In doing so, it frequently overlooks or marginalises the voices and experiences of women from different cultural, religious, and racial backgrounds. At its worst, it can become hypocritical, paternalistic, and even misogynistic in the way it represents and speaks for the very women it claims to support.
A feminism that chooses its causes not according to the severity of the injustices women face, but according to the political, religious, or racial identity of the perpetrators, risks losing its moral credibility. Likewise, a feminism shaped by racial and religious stereotypes, neo-colonial assumptions, and the infantilisation of Muslim women and women of colour deserves critical scrutiny rather than unqualified acceptance.
This book offers a compelling critique of these tendencies and serves as an important contribution to ongoing discussions about inclusion, representation, and solidarity within feminist movements.
April 14, 2026
This was a great read for my journey in understanding intersectional feminism. Ezaydi has compiled a plethora of information about the Muslim woman's lived experience, the racism that is still rampant within the community, how American positioning of Muslim women has lead white feminists to see most of their oppression as linked to their religion, as well as how we will ALL benefit from approaching feminism with an inclusive, nuanced lens.
Fans of The Trouble with White Women and Hood Feminism will appreciate this addition to the conversation around intersectional feminism.
Fans of The Trouble with White Women and Hood Feminism will appreciate this addition to the conversation around intersectional feminism.
April 5, 2026
Author does not like Muslims being portrayed as monolithic group but white feminism makes a great monolithic straw man. Lots of use of “that is not to say” stating an obvious counter argument but then quickly dismissing it.
April 28, 2026
A great read on what Western feminists can do to listen better to Muslim women. This books goes into some interesting history and highlights some issues that many in the West have towards this faith. I think this book is a good starting point for expanding one's understanding of various issues.
April 19, 2026
Very well written, researched and argued.
June 17, 2026
Yes thank you for verbalizing my incoherent thoughts into words that actually make sense
May 6, 2026
4.5/5
Books about feminism tend to be hit-or-miss for me, mostly because they don’t always move beyond the fundamentals of feminism and/or intersectionality.
The Othered Women briefly touches on the basics, but dives into the depths of white feminism, the harm it causes, and what Muslim women (especially in Great Britain) need from the movement as a whole.
This is the kind of nonfiction I really enjoy; I feel like I'm taking a college class in something that actually interests me. Reading this was the best part of my morning commute for most of April, and I strongly recommend it.
Books about feminism tend to be hit-or-miss for me, mostly because they don’t always move beyond the fundamentals of feminism and/or intersectionality.
The Othered Women briefly touches on the basics, but dives into the depths of white feminism, the harm it causes, and what Muslim women (especially in Great Britain) need from the movement as a whole.
This is the kind of nonfiction I really enjoy; I feel like I'm taking a college class in something that actually interests me. Reading this was the best part of my morning commute for most of April, and I strongly recommend it.
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