Women’s History Month Spotlight: Kawther Inuwa
This Women’s History Month Spotlight features Nigerian activist Kawther Inuwa. Inuwa works by instigating conversations around women’s rights and empowerment, humanitarian issues, Islamophobia, and racism. You’ll want to read more about her in our interview below.
Let’s start with you telling us a little bit about yourself.
My name is Kawther, I’m from Nigeria, and I am currently a first-year university student. Reading and writing are two of my most predominant passions, and for the longest time, I have been in love with the art of writing as a means to create worlds beyond boundaries and educate and inspire the masses. I truly believe that as the the younger generation, we need to learn to be socially, culturally and politically aware of not only our immediate environments but also on a global scale. Hence, I encourage my peers to entertain their curiosity and thirst for knowledge, whether it’s through poetry, art, novels, documentaries, podcasts, the Internet, books, etc.
Why do you think it’s important for people to understand the experiences of Black Muslim women?
Solely being born a woman, one is undoubtedly sure to face sexism in a number of settings; at home, school, workplaces. Yet, being born a Black woman, the discrimination we face is twofold, and in environments where Islamophobic attitudes run rampant, Black Muslim women are inundated with triple the prejudice, and their basic identity is the target of unjustified attacks. Within a number of Muslim communities, religious and cultural values and beliefs are wrongly interchanged, and so while Islam in no way endorses racial prejudice, certain cultures that practice Islam do. This can negatively impact Black Muslim women within those communities, wherein their blackness is believed to make them inferior to their non-Black counterparts.
Moreover, when we observe attitudes towards Black Muslim women in parts of the globe that are not predominantly Muslim, the discriminatory patterns that emerge are appalling. Primarily, institutional racism is an obstacle placed in the path of success for all Black women, barring them from landing jobs or getting into their dream schools, for example. Yet, due to the misconceived belief that anyone who practices Islam promotes violence, Muslim women are on many occasions turned down from jobs they are highly qualified for and rejected from schools they should have been accepted into. Job opportunities and acceptance letters have slipped through the fingers of Black women due to the blackness of their skin and the nature of their curls, so just imagine how many Black Muslim women have experienced the same.
This is why I think it’s so important for us to see Black Muslim women knocking down society’s cunningly placed impediments to their success, and shattering the stereotype of Muslim women as docile creatures. It definitely instills a feeling of pride within me to know that Black Muslim girls out there have such inspiring figures to look up to.
How can we educate and advocate for people to be allies to the Muslim community?
Religious extremism has unfortunately become a prevalent headline within the 21st Century, perpetuating the false notion that Islam is a religion of terror. In addition, when certain aspects of the media repeatedly insinuate that the terms “Muslim” and “terrorism” are synonymous, all this does is fuel the religious intolerance Muslims are subjected to on a daily basis. Like I mentioned before, education can make the greatest difference. Rather than condemn an entire faith for the actions of a group of individuals who practice said faith, take a moment to gather all the facts before jumping to conclusions.
The misperceptions surrounding the Islamic faith are extensive. Therefore, being an ally to Muslim communities worldwide can only begin once those misperceptions have been clarified. And I really believe that there is no better way to do so than by initiating conversations with Muslims. The saying goes that “ignorance is bliss”, but I beg to differ. Ignorance breeds bigotry and pure, unadulterated hate. The inception of a discourse between Muslims and non-Muslims will allow those on varying ends of the religious spectrum to realize that the Islamic faith denounces all forms of brutality and discrimination against any human being, and will shed light on the fact that Islam champions women’s rights, debunking the fallacy that Islam is a faith that supports misogynistic views.
We couldn’t be more thankful for Kawther Inuwa taking her time to educate the masses. To see more from her, please visit her website.
