Muslimah Media Watch is a vital corrective for media (mis)characterizations of Muslimahs. Recently, Faith had a standout piece on the tendency of some to make sweeping monolithic negative comments about Muslim women in the media that are so wrongheaded and cliched that commenter Safiya Outlines could sum them up in lol speak: “Muzzlim womenz has scarvvs, kan’t read
.” Here’s another example of the aforementioned tendency (applied to South Asians):
Just as land is valuable because it is fertile, women too are for the same reasons. And that really sums up the status of women in India and the South Asian region.
Other than that, I found the article to be fairly informative about some serious issues.

Fatemeh 12:30 am on January 23, 2009 Permalink |
Thanks for the kind words and link love!
Safiya Outlines 9:44 am on January 23, 2009 Permalink |
Salaam Alaikum,
Woo-hoo fame and recognition!
I’d missed that paragraph in the original piece. I’m surprised she didn’t compare us to cattle instead.
Query- Is it better or worse to compared to farmland or farm animals? Why do such metaphors spring so readily from those who are supposedly committed to “liberating” us from our plight?
johnpi 3:46 pm on January 23, 2009 Permalink |
Yes, I’m sure the battling begums of Bangladesh would be surprised to hear about their limited options, but I can’t recall the last time I heard women compared to land, other than this old Sumerian poem in college. So double shame on her for ripping off the Sumerians too.