A mural in Melbourne that formed part of the #IAmMyOwnGuardian campaign, launched by Saudi-Australian artist Ms. Saffaa, was found vandalised yesterday. A product of the collaboration of several artists, the mural took months to complete and probably minutes to deface. Continue reading “Misogyny at Home, Islamophobia Everywhere Else”
A few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to speak with Eiynah, a woman of Pakistani descent who grew up in Saudi Arabia, on her podcast, Polite Conversations. Among the variety of topics that we had the pleasure of discussing, she raised the question of feminism in Saudi Arabia. Continue reading “Toward a More Inclusive Saudi Feminism”
Being an immigrant has at times been scary largely because being different can be scary. To be an immigrant is to be foreign, and to be foreign is to be different. One Akkadian word for “foreign” is nakrum, the same adjective used to mean “strange” and, even, “enemy”. In the ancient world, being foreign could also mean being strange, possibly even hostile, and based on recent social and political trends, for some, not too much has changed since 2000 BC. Continue reading “To Be an Immigrant Is Still to Be Human”
