Whenever I’m back home in Malaysia, I’m frequently faced with the annoying question of what race I am. It’s annoying because it jumps right at me from nowhere, from people I hardly know, from strangers. Yes, it’s easy to come to the conclusion that some Malaysians are just rude but one thing is for sure,… Continue reading When did talking about race become taboo?
Author: Angry Malay Woman
I like plants.
Feminisme: Antara mitos dan fakta
Ramai yang berpendapat bahawa golongan wanita dan lelaki feminis yang berpegang kepada prinsip “kesamaan” begitu khusyuk dengan isu-isu hak asasi manusia dan anasir-anasir berwajah kebaratan yang lain, seperti sekularisme dan liberalisme. Tidak kurang juga para bijak-pandai yang mendakwa gerakan feminisme sebagai satu-satunya punca keruntuhan akhlak dan rumahtangga. Ada pula yang khuatir feminisme menggalakkan persaingan antara… Continue reading Feminisme: Antara mitos dan fakta
Looking at religion through white-tinted glasses
Looking back, I knew that I never wanted to be a student in religious studies, but oddly enough, here I am digging into it and taking apart the psyche of believers (and non-). If the case is still true in today’s terms, being a scholar in religious matters in Malaysia would really mean studying Islam,… Continue reading Looking at religion through white-tinted glasses
From the crypt: A most "nebulous" concept that national unity
This was my very blog post, written on The Star Online’s citizen’s blog nearly three years ago. It’s a response to Johor’s Menteri Besar (Chief Minister) Abdul Ghani Othman’s comments on the “abuse” of the term ‘Bangsa Malaysia’ and pointing out how UMNO politicians continue to reproduce colonial strategies to maintain racialised power. NB: The… Continue reading From the crypt: A most "nebulous" concept that national unity
Whose revolution? Critiquing Seyran Ates and her Islamic sexual revolution
The calls of lawyer, activist, and writer Seyran Ates for a sexual revolution in the heterogeneous Muslim world may surprise many, particularly when the movement is commonly associated with free love, hippies, and public nudity. In a recent interview with German magazine Spiegel, Ates begins with discussing what she means by this and her experiences… Continue reading Whose revolution? Critiquing Seyran Ates and her Islamic sexual revolution
Let these songs speak for me for now
[inspired by T-boy’s Malay music madness] I’ll be needing some time to adjust to my new life in London and SOAS at the moment. Some changes can be really overwhelming especially when one has to move into a completely empty house that is also falling to pieces. I hate the city despite being born and… Continue reading Let these songs speak for me for now
Questioning the veil, questioning the questioner
First published at Muslimah Media Watch. An edited version is published on altmuslimah.com Today we witness postcolonial Orientalism coming to grips with its obsession with the hijab. While the white French elite seem fixed on debating its symbols, the British media are asking why women choose to wear it. Once, the obsession was an obvious… Continue reading Questioning the veil, questioning the questioner
More on men and feminism
Men and feminism: the next frontier on feminism’s agenda. Underrated, under researched, but quite possibly one of the most important issues surrounding our engagement with the source of female oppression. Gareth at Ad Fontes has some thought-provoking views on this: Patriarchy forces men and women to play gender games that damage both of us. The… Continue reading More on men and feminism
Big Love: Appropriating feminism in advocating polygamy
Originally posted at Muslimah Media Watch Stories about polygamy tend to surge and ebb in the media, but they never fail to intrigue people. Recently in South Africa, a Zulu man married four women–all at once–making the most popular story on the BBC news website (you can watch the clip here). In the video, a… Continue reading Big Love: Appropriating feminism in advocating polygamy
Reconstructing the deconstructed: some thoughts on transnational feminist activism
The genetic material that connects us people with pre-historic creatures are the hox genes; genes that determine the basic shape of the body – signalling where the front and back, top and bottom of the body of more complex organisms (this includes worms I’m afraid) would be, essentially. Now, the discovery of the hox genes… Continue reading Reconstructing the deconstructed: some thoughts on transnational feminist activism
Alicia Izharuddin 