The Othered Woman: Shahed Ezaydi on How White Feminism Harms Muslim Women

An urgent, vital contribution to the feminist conversation – one that tears through the comfortable myth of universal sisterhood' – Alya Mooro

Growing up, journalist Shahed Ezaydi was often asked how she could call herself a feminist and still practise her faith. It’s a question that reveals a deeper issue that Muslim women often face: being ignored in feminist spaces entirely, or cast as passive victims in need of being saved. This mindset fuels gendered Islamophobia and a narrow white feminism. But Muslim women don’t need rescuing.

The Othered Woman is the book Ezaydi wishes her younger self could have turned to. It challenges the myths of how Muslim women are oppressed and who by, and shows that these myths translate into very real harm both in Britain and around the world, showcasing the voices of intersectional feminists who are fighting for liberation on their own terms.

Accessible and compelling, this is urgent reading for anyone who considers themselves a feminist.

Shahed Ezaydi is a writer and editor, specialising in features and reporting on culture, social issues and feminism. She is a writer at Stylist and editor of the Peaks of Colour Nature Journal. Previously an editor at Bustle and Aurelia, Ezaydi has written for a range of publications, including Dazed, Glamour, and gal-dem.

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