Jawhara - Mamapreneurs

Now more than ever we seem to live in a world that thrives on absolutes, on generalisations, on binary rhetoric and dog whistle politics. We also hear and read that Arab or Muslim women are oppressed and subservient to men. Or that Arab and Muslim girls are forced into marriages. As a community, we have been at the receiving end of such stereotypes and public discourse for decades. Such absolute rhetoric denies me my experience and my everyday life as a woman; it denies me and hundreds of thousands of others our rights as human beings. It holds us accountable for the deplorable behavior of a few. It pigeonholes us and ignores the diversity, knowledge and richness within communities. It divides silences and marginalises us. It simplifies our lives for public consumption. It also stirs up hate and causes harm for generations to come.