Monday, October 20, 2008

How to use our ally voices

I'm just going to let Fatemah of Mulismnista and Muslimah Media Watch speak for herself in An Open Letter to White Non-Muslim Western Feminists:

Knowing some Muslim women through work or as friends does not give you the authority to speak for them or the rest of Muslim women.

There are those of us who suffer. But don’t speak of us as victims if we are not dead. Don’t deny the agency with which we become survivors and active shapers of our lives. Don’t ignore the fighting we do for ourselves.

...

Being an ally does not mean speaking for us, making choices for us, or figuring out what’s best for us. It means supporting and defending the choices we make and the voices we use.

The whole post is really good. Check it out.

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