while you're ahead…

It’s not about the burka, edited by Mariam Khan.

The last of the non-fiction read for a while.

I bought this on a whim, intrigued by the title, and frankly pushed by the fact that my ignorance when it come to Muslim and especially Muslim women is pretty deep.

AND, I repeat, it’s not good to spout judgments or opinion of something we don’t know zero about.

In 2016, Mariam Khan read that David Cameron had linked the radicalization of Muslim men to the ‘traditional submissiveness’ of Muslim women. Mariam felt pretty sure she didn’t know a single Muslim woman who would describe herself that way. 

The book is collection of essays written by a variety of Muslim women talking about their experiences, their life choices, what it means to be a Muslim woman often (more like always) misunderstood, people making assumptions and sweeping generalisations about you just from the way you dress etc. It gives them a voice that is not often heard because, let’s be frank… we think we know it all, right? and we never bothered to ask. Essays about clothes, and divorce, ethnicity, belonging and so much more.

It was really interesting to know more about the religion, the role of women in the Koran and that really the problem is not the Muslim faith but the pervasive and poisonous patriarchy that’s take over. At least that’s what I got out of it. I’m open to be corrected.

I urge you to read it because it is a real eye opener. Some of the essays are amazing, some left me a little … confused and a little ‘meh’… but I’m so glad I read it. Knowledge is power.