Don't call me oppressed because I'm an Arab woman. It denies me the right to my own experience

posted on: Mar 19, 2015

Now more than ever we seem to live in a world that thrives on absolutes, on generalisations, on binary rhetoric and dog whistle politics. In the country where I live, we hear and read things like: “Everyone’s got to be on Team Australia”. Arabs are Muslims and Muslims are Arabs (and these are used interchangeably). We hear that Muslims or Arabs are terrorists. You are with us or against us. And if you are not with us, you are with the terrorists. We also hear and read that Arab or Muslim women are oppressed and subservient to men. Or that Arab and Muslim girls are forced into early marriages.

Source: www.theguardian.com