How orientalism endangers the feminist discourse of the rejection of stereotypical Muslim women

The concept of orientalism is based on the colonial system. When it comes to simplifying the definition of this concept, it is called a stereotype to consider the east. It was Edward who made this term popular. Before his analysis, orientalism was seen as an academic discipline within the parameters of the western domain. It explained the distant and the Middle East. With the analytical approach of the SAID ,, Orientalism was taken into account when the examination of the East or the Orient was viewed and stereotyped.

It is easier to close the gap between orientalism and western feminism, as both stereotypes and prejudices are driving. They represent a challenge for the intersectional feminist discourse, which gives an understanding of different forms of oppression, which are geared towards different identities. Western feminism confirms the rights of the whites in the western world, while intersectional feminism presents the rights of people who are discriminated against due to gender, caste, class, breed, language, religion and region.

It is important to get along with orientalism in connection with the endangered feminist discourse of the rejection of the stereotypes to which Muslim women are exposed.

Understanding orientalism and stereotyping about the lens of which are said

People often hear about Islamophobia or Islamophobic remarks that are directed against Muslims, which they regard as a threat to the world or dehumanization. The word “Islamophobia” is not a new phenomenon, but its historical importance can be attributed to the popularization of orientalism in 1978. Edward Said’s work became the attention of the population’s attention.

Source: Wikimedia Commons

Since then, orientalism has been understood as reproducing images from a western perspective through artistic representation. It is a criticism of a distinction between the Orient and Occident; The Orient is a European invention. According to colonial intellectual view, this distinction is used to ensure colonial interests through the barbaric representation of the East. Colonialism is carried out under the guise of civilized uncivilized people.

Said was a Palestinian intellectual who used the term to understand people that colonialism spread not only through armies, conquest and oppression, but also through literature, anthropology and a number of stories.

In the research article entitled “How orientalism drives Islamophobia“It is mentioned that orientalist stories breed Western perceptions about Islam and Muslims and consider them violent, aggressive, inferior and backwards. Said’s focus was on how oriental ideas the deceptive picture of Muslims maintain. The occident creates the Orient and vice versa. It is impossible to grasp one in the absence of the other.

To ensure colonial profits, orientalism contains stereotypes. Said was a Palestinian intellectual who used the term to understand people that colonialism spread not only through armies, conquest and oppression, but also through literature, anthropology and a number of stories. The influence of the deceptive representation of the East remains relevant. This can be recognizable in the mainstream media in which “we” against “you” prevail. Democracy and secularism are connected to western countries while terrorism is connected to Muslims. The stereotype of recognizing Muslims as terrorists escalated after September 11th.

Dealing with orientalism in the context of gender

It is fascinating to deal with orientalism in the context of gender and religion. The comprehensive analysis is easier with intersectional feminism, which is due to black feminism. When it comes to understanding orientalism with gender, a line of distinction between female and male attributes is retained that are given to the Orient or the Occident. The Orient is stereotyped as a feminine, weak, irrational and controlled, while the Occident is so strong, rational and has a human tendency. In a research piece with the title ” In the female form: a trap of the reverse orientalism From Chizukou Ueno: Edward said that the Occident constantly feminized the Orient.

Source: Wikimedia Commons

Gender -specific orientalism cultivates stereotypes against women that belong to the east of the occident. For example, hijab is presented in the mainstream media stereotype and as depressing, oppressive and irrational. This stereotype gives people hatred and discrimination is transferred to Muslim women. According to the Drake Institute of Women’s Policy, “69 percent of Muslim women were discriminated against compared to 57 percent of Muslim men.”

Although federal and state governments in the United States cannot forbid Muslim women to wear hijab, they still have to carry the main burden of hijabophobia in schools and jobs. Hijabophobia is understood even better with intersectional feminism, since the latter has to do with the former as a form of discrimination based on religion and gender.

In order to make it precisely, orientalism and Western feminism are connected to support Hijab suppression without taking into account the willingness of women. It is very due to accept that the support of the legal system, which forces Muslim women not to wear Hijab, is also a human rights violation, as well as to force someone to wear hijab. Western feminists or white feminists provide the reason for the support of Hijab and Burka bans in several countries: their urge after liberating Muslim women from the bonds of the patriarchal domain. For them, the Hijab is naturally depressing. Emmanuel MacronThe President of France maintains this claim to justify the prohibition of the hijab in public spaces for the protection of Muslim women. In the name of the liberation, secularism and the end of oppression, discrimination is fulfilled, which is considered a violation of human rights. People who support the ban claim that it is a step to preserve French culture.

Orientalism and patriarchal norms: Double strain on Muslim women

Orientalism and patriarchal norms are connected. On the other hand, Muslim women have to face orientalist stereotypes. On the other hand, they are discriminated against by gender, classes and caste. This leads to the double stress that Muslim women are imposed. It is a preconceived idea that Muslim women only fall victim to orientalist stereotypes. The patriarchal dominance that prevails among Muslims is often overlooked.

Although orientalism is patriarchal, he initiated the distinction between the Orient and the Occident along the gender lines, where the former was considered male, and shaped the female Orient. Gender -specific stereotypes shape the western representation of the Orient, in which eastern women are considered suppressed to maintain western masculinist power and their intervention in the “Third World”.

In the name of feminism, it leads to a violation of human rights. As a result, the oppression of the readiness is carried out. This western feminism does not want to fight for patriarchal forces, but exacerates their emergency.

As a student of history at the University of Delhi, Nashra Rehman is always enthusiastic to share
Your understanding of gender history and a link between past and the present. It is high
Passionate to convey in the awakening of minds that refer to “how and why women are
Marginalalized ”through their publications.