UPDATE: PDMG has moved to a more inclusive space – Privilege-denying Malaysian guy In the spirit of the hugely popular Privilege-denying Dude meme that’s been circulating the feminist blogosphere, my fellow feminist compadres Tariq and Munira, have started the long overdue Privilege-denying Malay guy. Of course there is no denying that Malay privilege is enshrined… Continue reading Introducing Privilege-denying Malay guy. Patriarchy-apologists be damned!
Category: Feminism
Maryam & Manan: What Underage Marriages Say About Our Society
My first piece on the Malaysian legal blog, Loyar Burok: Underage marriages are not simply perversions of marital norms but an index of our unequal society. The news concerning the marriage of a 14-year old girl and 23-year old man reveals a thing or two about what can be expected of young women and of… Continue reading Maryam & Manan: What Underage Marriages Say About Our Society
2010 – the year in rape reports [Trigger warning]
Most annual retrospectives look at “big” stories that grabbed the year’s headlines: war, natural and environmental disasters, celebrity “news”, famous deaths, the busting of confidential US diplomatic cables, to name a few. Few however would chart both the shock and banality of sexual violence committed by men against women and girls in the year gone… Continue reading 2010 – the year in rape reports [Trigger warning]
Survey on feminism and women’s rights in Malaysia
Back in September, I conducted a survey on how Malaysians felt about women’s rights as well as their views on feminism. My interest in Malaysians’ perceptions about women’s rights and feminism grew out of seeing the complacent attitudes of the general populace with regards to the status of women in our society today. Simply put,… Continue reading Survey on feminism and women’s rights in Malaysia
Book review: The Rey Chow Reader
(Crossposted from Elevate Difference) Edited by Bowman, Columbia University Press Not many theorists would re-imagine Jane Eyre as a Maoist. However, postcolonial thinker Rey Chow does and with great aplomb. Furthermore, it’s not in the context of English literature in which Chow invokes the fictional heroine, but rather the issue of Orientalism in today’s academia.… Continue reading Book review: The Rey Chow Reader
Book review: The Material of Knowledge: Feminist Disclosures
By Susan Hekman, Indiana University Press This is a book for the post post-modernist thinker. Written by professor of political science, Susan Hekman, The Material of Knowledge: Feminist Disclosures seeks to alleviate the theorist’s conundrum with the material consequences in the event of natural disasters and destruction. Many theorists today are curiously silent on tsunamis,… Continue reading Book review: The Material of Knowledge: Feminist Disclosures
Is Muslim feminism more than just a hijab defense?
There may be 1,001 Muslim feminist critiques on the European burqa ban and its attendant jokes and jibes, insults, and ridiculousness. But what should remain clear is that we Muslim feminists are not just about the hijab. The recent discussion on LGBT acceptance on MMW revealed the cracks in the Muslim “sisterhood” and it began… Continue reading Is Muslim feminism more than just a hijab defense?
When the green-eyed monster is female, my feminist heart dies a little
We envy only those whom we feel ourselves to be like—we envy only members of our reference group. There are few successes more unendurable than those of our ostensible equals.” Status Anxiety by Alain de Botton Once, I had pooh-poohed the idea that female friendships are tricky. What’s so difficult about maintaining friendships with another… Continue reading When the green-eyed monster is female, my feminist heart dies a little
Last Say on Niqab Should be From a Woman Who Wears It. Obviously.
(First published over at Muslimah Media Watch. To be honest, I’m pretty fed up about having to discuss and write on this topic ad infinitum. So let’s call for a moratorium from now on) I took the a brief moment from work to watch a 12-minute segment on BBC’s Newsnight about why British women choose… Continue reading Last Say on Niqab Should be From a Woman Who Wears It. Obviously.
My version of Godwin's Law
According to Godwin’s Law: As an online discussion grows longer, the probability of a comparison involving Nazis or Hitler approaches 1 In my version, (which extends beyond discussions on the internet) the probability of a comparison involving bikinis approaches 1 as debates on the burqa grow longer. I have heard statements like, “If women have… Continue reading My version of Godwin's Law
Alicia Izharuddin 