“When a global event of terrorism occurs, sadly we blame a Muslim woman living in Melbourne,” said Hana Assafiri.
“Muslim women are faced with either needing to be rescued from our oppression, or feared.”
Ms Assafiri is a chef at the Morrocan Deli-cacy café in Melbourne’s Lygon Street, and has founded a fortnightly event to aid community dialogue.
“You can come along and ask a Muslim women absolutely anything.”
Sascha is attending to deepen her understanding of the practice of hijab.
“I do have reactions to it that I’m not especially sure about, or even proud of, but they’re definitely there,” she said.
“As a feminist I do find myself recoiling from the idea that people would choose to cover themselves. It’s the commitment to covering on the basis of modesty. The other side of modesty is shame.”
Toltu, who has attended regularly, is familiar with this belief.
Source: The Feed
“There’s definitely a negative perception of Muslim women, particularly around those who choose to identify as Muslim,” she said. “It’s something I find very difficult to reconcile with some Western notions of feminism.”
“In Australia it’s pretty hard for Muslims and non-Muslims to converse - we tend to live in little closed communities,” said Ms Assafari.
“When one is speed dating, we approach it with the openness of heart and mind that is absolutely necessary to getting to know another human being.”
Watch Sascha and Toltu meet for the first time to discuss Islam and feminism.
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