A review by bloodmaarked
It's Not About the Burqa: Muslim Women on Faith, Feminism, Sexuality and Race by Mariam Khan
5.0
It's Not About the Burqa is really a rather brilliant book. Like, the type of book that I feel everyone needs to read.
I am not Muslim, and so I can't especially speak to whether or not these stories are an accurate portrayal of Islamic life (and the book doesn't claim to speak for all Muslim women either), but I feel like it gave a real eye-opening look into the lives of Muslim women. After all, this is a group whose voices are very much quietened in British society, whose existences are highly politicised, and yet whose perspectives are rarely brought to the forefront. A book like this is an important starting point to allow for Muslim women to have the seat the table that they are so often denied.
I particularly loved the diverse voices found in this one book alone - black women, members of the LGBTQ+ community, feminists, mothers, married women, divorcees, women who choose to wear the hijab and those who don't - what was presented here certainly wasn't a monolith of views.
I found myself relating to many of the stories through my own struggles as a black woman, whilst recognising that such difficulties may be similar but are also very different.
My favourite pieces in particular were The Clothes of My Faith by Afia Ahmed, and Hijabi (R)evolution by Afshan D'Souza-Lodhi. Both essays were so powerful. And across the 17 stories found in this book, a multitude of topics were broached: being a feminist, representation of Muslims in the media, cultural appropriation, mental health stigma, sexuality, race, just to name a few. It was an incredibly educational read that I highly recommend to everyone.
I am not Muslim, and so I can't especially speak to whether or not these stories are an accurate portrayal of Islamic life (and the book doesn't claim to speak for all Muslim women either), but I feel like it gave a real eye-opening look into the lives of Muslim women. After all, this is a group whose voices are very much quietened in British society, whose existences are highly politicised, and yet whose perspectives are rarely brought to the forefront. A book like this is an important starting point to allow for Muslim women to have the seat the table that they are so often denied.
I particularly loved the diverse voices found in this one book alone - black women, members of the LGBTQ+ community, feminists, mothers, married women, divorcees, women who choose to wear the hijab and those who don't - what was presented here certainly wasn't a monolith of views.
I found myself relating to many of the stories through my own struggles as a black woman, whilst recognising that such difficulties may be similar but are also very different.
My favourite pieces in particular were The Clothes of My Faith by Afia Ahmed, and Hijabi (R)evolution by Afshan D'Souza-Lodhi. Both essays were so powerful. And across the 17 stories found in this book, a multitude of topics were broached: being a feminist, representation of Muslims in the media, cultural appropriation, mental health stigma, sexuality, race, just to name a few. It was an incredibly educational read that I highly recommend to everyone.