I’ve been self-censoring myself for too long. Mostly out of fear of being poor again and of losing out on opportunities. But then I realised, much to my despair, that one can never win as a woman in academia, especially in Malaysian academia. It shouldn’t take long to identify sexism in academia. But it requires… Continue reading Toughness in academia is never enough
Tag: Sexism
On sexual slavery and the question of what makes something ‘Islamic’
Salwa al-Mutairi, a Kuwaiti politican, gave a cold-blooded proposal for Muslim men to take female slaves, especially non-Muslim female prisoners of war, for sexual use (or rather rape). It has rather unpredictably come under fire. Slavery is one of the most abhorrent forms of abuse of power in this modern age. But the basic principles… Continue reading On sexual slavery and the question of what makes something ‘Islamic’
Why are we a nation who adores murderers, rapists, and violent men?
Yesterday, I read with despair and bewilderment about 9-year old Nurul Dahyatul Fazlinda Mat Haizan who was first subjected to an acid attack by her father and would later meet him in prison with “tears of joy”. The reason why Nurul Dahyatul would weep for joy upon meeting her violent father as if reuniting with… Continue reading Why are we a nation who adores murderers, rapists, and violent men?
Some notes on sluttiness in Jalang
The best part about being a researcher in film and media is the joy of discovering half-forgotten ‘gems’, like the Malaysian film called Jalang (2009). Jalang (Malay for slut, whore, wayward butterfly, you get the idea) is the ground-breaking cinematic masterpiece by Nazir Jamaluddin about a high-flying young woman Maria who apparently sleeps her way… Continue reading Some notes on sluttiness in Jalang
The complicated politics of being First Lady
Sensitivity and compassion are apparently not Rosmah Mansor’s, the Malaysian “First Lady”, best suits. In a recent press appearance, Rosmah intended to buck the trend of the silent and exceedingly proper politician’s wife, by making self-righteous remarks about the recent Japanese tragedy as a well-deserved lesson for all. In the spirit of freedom of expression,… Continue reading The complicated politics of being First Lady
On male public intellectuals of the Twitter age and gender
We can trust the public intellectual – the voice of the zeitgeist, so to speak – to be clever, witty, sometimes rather sexy (because they’re clever and witty), and male. Though it seems that lately being male is a crippling impediment to being the voice of the zeitgeist. Recently, Stephen Fry caused the chattering classes… Continue reading On male public intellectuals of the Twitter age and gender
Alicia Izharuddin 