“It’s not about the burqa: Muslim women on faith, feminism, sexuality and race” (Khan, 2019) was one of the books that made me understand intersectionality but also view faith from a different perspective. The book includes stories from different writers that delve into talking about various themes such faith and sexuality, feminism and mental health.
Afshan D’souza-Lodhi talks about her relationship with wearing a hijab and how it changed throughout the different stages of her life. D’souza-Lodhi takes us through different experiences and peoples assumptions and reactions on her wearing a hijab or not. “The moment I arrived, I was faced with people making assumptions about what I believed and how I would behave.” (Khan, 2019). She also talks about her experience of being a Muslim, person of colour, bisexual woman and how she struggled to feel that she belongs in the LGBTQI+ community, “I didn’t fit the stereotypes of what queer woman looked like” (Khan, 2019). D’souza-Lodhi mentions how she changed the way that she dresses, talks, using a different name and removed her hijab in order to be accepted. (Khan, 2019)
Reikis talks about the two different religious identities, the social identity and worldview. “Religious subjects can be harmed when their religion is racialised or when their gender and dress are mistakenly though to be predictive of their beliefs and practices” (Rekis, 2023) whereas worldview is when we underestimate the person’s intersectionality and its power.
Making the assumption that faith and sexuality don’t mix is a really harmful narrative who doesn’t allow people to be included in communities such as the LGBTQI+ community. It contradicts the ethos and ideology of inclusion and that everybody is accepted no matter of who they are and embraces the diversity. Thus, creating a safe space only for certain people.
Another informative piece is by Haifa Jawad, who talks about Muslim women and the challenges that they face when competing in western sporting environments. Jawad mentions the ‘Accept and Respect’ declaration which has recommended in educational and sport systems to ‘accept and respect’ the diverse ways in which Muslim women and girls practice their religion and participate in sport and physical activity” (Jawad, 2023).
Before the start of the Olympics 2024, France put in place a hijab ban only for the French players, forcing a lot of Muslim women to choose between competing in a lifetime achievement or faith. This ban was based falsely on secularism that shows the discrimination against Muslim female athletes when male athletes are allowed to compete while wearing religious crosses. (Durie, 2024) It comes in contrast with the message of French Olympics 2024 being the most inclusive Olympics (Diallo, 2024)
Shireen Ahmed said that “this ban relates to issues around women’s bodily autonomy and shows attempt by policymakers to dictate what women can or cannot wear.” (Durie, 2024) You can’t claim equality, diversity and inclusion when you exclude individuals based on their faith but also gender.
References
Diallo, R. (2024) The Paris Olympics may look fair and inclusive on TV. The truth is much darker. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/article/2024/aug/01/paris-olympics-tv-france-headscarf-ban-games (Accessed: 20 June 2024)
Durie, A. (2024) The Paris Olympics may look fair and inclusive on TV. The truth is much darker. Available at: https://www.aljazeera.com/sports/2024/6/13/basket-pour-toutes-fighting-against-frances-sports-and-olympics-hijab-ban (Accessed: 20 June 2024)
Jawad, H. (2022) Islam, Women and Sport: The Case of Visible Muslim Women. Available at: https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/religionglobalsociety/2022/09/islam-women-and-sport-the-case-of-visible-muslim-women/ (Accessed: 19 June 2024)
Khan, M. (2019) It’s not about the burqa: Muslim women on faith, feminism, sexuality and race [Kindle]. London: Picador (Accessed: 20 June 2024)
Reki, J. (2023) Religious Identity and Epistemic Injustice: An Intersectional Account. Hypatia 38, pp779–800
TED (2014) Kwame Anthony Appiah: Is religion good or bad? (This is a trick question), 16 June, Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X2et2KO8gcY Accessed: 19 June 2024)
Trinity University (2016) Challenging Race, Religion, and Stereotypes in the Classroom. [Online]. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0CAOKTo_DOk (Accessed: 19 June 2024)
Wazir, B. (2019) It’s Not About the Burqa review – courageous essays. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/books/2019/mar/26/its-not-about-the-burqa-muslim-women-faith-feminism-sexuality-race-essays-mariam-khan-review (Accessed: 20 June 2024)