Muslim Women and Misogyny w/ Samia Rahman

Samia Rahman offers an exploration of Islamophobia, patriarchy and identity. What is it really like to be a Muslim woman in Britain today?

About the book

Muslim women are among the most fetishised and objectified groups in society today. Much is assumed and imagined about their lives, and it is all too easy to succumb to orientalist myths. For too long, Muslim women have been reduced to two-dimensional stereotypes: empowered heroines rejecting patriarchal religious teachings, or victims of a misogyny believed to run deep within Islam. But why is this neatly packaged view so pervasive? Are oppression and subjugation actually so central to Muslim women’s lives? How is this misogyny influenced by white supremacy and Islamophobia? And where do the biggest threats to Muslim women’s freedom and safety really come from?

In this bold new book, Samia Rahman explores the relationships between misogyny and Muslim women’s experiences in Britain today, untangling complex issues such as Muslim feminism, representation, toxic masculinity, marriage and sexuality. Based on extensive interviews with both women and men from Islamic communities, she offers a powerful, much-needed response to the misappropriation of female Muslim voices, revealing the many faces of Muslim womanhood within the UK.

About the author

Samia Rahman is a writer, scholar and journalist, whose research focuses on Muslim women, patriarchy and structures of power. The former director of the Muslim Institute and former deputy editor of the quarterly Critical Muslim (also available from Hurst), she is studying for a PhD at Goldsmiths, University of London.