The Politics Behind the "Oppressed Muslim Woman" Story

As a British Moroccan Muslim woman, I've learned that the term "oppressed Muslim woman" is not just a stereotype randomly floating in the background. No. It's a powerful narrative that deliberately circulates in all aspects of society - news headlines, policy debates, classroom conversations, 'concerned' comments about Hijab and even in some feminist spaces that claim to be liberatory. Although it is not always fabricated, as gendered harm exists in every society, but the danger lies in its selectiveness, its political usefulness and the fact that it is often presented as the only story worth telling.

Researchers have been dissecting this narrative for decades. What comes up again and again is that the narrative persists because it serves a purpose, which is to help certain institutions explain the world in a way that justifies their power. 'Saving women" has been historically used, throughout colonial history, as a moral excuse for domination. The West has always framed Muslim societies as inherently backwards and Western intervention as inherently civilising. This has been constructed through Western research, art, literature, politics and filtered through educational curricula. Women's bodies and clothing have always been central in this story, used to portray the Muslim faith as barbaric as opposed to the Western world which always portrays freedom and modernism. This framing has been continuously profitable for empires.

After 9/11, this framing became mainstream policy language. The fight for women's rights, more specifically in relation to the war in Afghanistan, was mobilised in public rhetoric to make military intervention sound moral. Muslim women became symbols used to justify actions that are not primarily about women's safety or freedom. The same governments that speak loudly about Muslim women's oppression often remain quiet about genred violence and structural sexism at home. This is not accidental. It is deliberate and political.

Now - why does this narrative continue to survive, despite more and more people becoming aware of the 'truth'? This is about the plot: "they" oppress women, "we" liberate them. It's a story with heroes and villains and it emotionally engages the audience... the sort of 'happy ending' kind of films that make us feel good about humanity and all of that....

It's complicated. Very very complicated. We, Muslim women, are not one-dimensional. We come from different regions, we have different politics, different relationships to faith, different class positions, different family dynamics and different ways of 'doing' agency. In a world where agency is defined as resistance in a liberal, Western-coded form: leaving religion, rejecting modesty, breaking with family, performing a specific kind of individualism - we will never satisfy the West, and UNAPOLOGETICALLY so. In our world, agency is exercised through religious practice, moral discipline, community commitments and choices that do not necessarily align with secular-liberal expectations. Despite patriarchal norms across our regions, as well as in the West, we are 'thinking' subjects even if we are not performing the Western version of empowerment.

What pains me the most is that our story is always told 'about us' NOT 'by us' - as if our voice is not worthy or indeed, as if we don't have a voice at all...Much available research, including research used to form policy, is based on assumptions and perceptions. This is of course so institutions are always able to control narratives. The stereotype therefore persists because it is useful, repeated and institutionally backed. As a British Moroccan Muslim artist and researcher, my role is not to swap one simplistic view for another... I'm more interested in unveiling the complexities of our lived experiences. There is undeniable patriarchy, (patriarchy at home deserves another post, where it will be discussed in honesty, as it is a contributing factor to the persistent narrative.) BUT, we negociate, we resist, we lead, we create, we teach and we build. We do this of all in silence, because we are taught about humility and pride from childhood. Our silence is often misunderstood for weakness, but again... nobody asks us... they just assume...

Strength is a spectrum and we own every level of it - just like all women on this earth, who have different battles to overcome. We are tired. We deserve to be left in peace. Even if it's just momentarily.