Rafia Zakaria

Rafia Zakaria is a Pakistani-American attorney, feminist, journalist, and author.[1] Zakaria is a columnist for Dawn. She has written for The Nation, Guardian Books, The New Republic, The Baffler, Boston Review, and Al Jazeera.[2] In 2021, she published a book titled Against White Feminism, in which she critiques the emphasis that conventional feminist thought places on the experiences of white women while excluding women of color.[1]

Biography

Zakaria was born in Karachi, Pakistan, and was forced into an arranged marriage at 17 to a Pakistani-American man.[3] Zakaria fled from her abusive husband in 2002 when she was 25. She entered law school and earned a postgraduate degree in political philosophy.[4] Zakaria is a Muslim and identifies as a Muslim feminist.[5] She has worked on behalf of victims of domestic abuse.[3]

Against White Feminism

In her 2021 book Against White Feminism, Zakaria critiqued the emphasis that conventional feminist thought places on the experiences of white women while excluding women of color.[6] The book was reviewed by numerous established publications, including The Guardian[7] and the Financial Times,[8] as well as by the online magazine The Arts Fuse.[9] Commentators have accused Zakaria of undermining the feminist movement and playing into the hands of patriarchy through her attacks on white feminism.[7] On the podcast EU Scream, Zakaria rejected the harsh criticism she has received especially in Europe in reaction to her book, criticism which she considered mostly uninformed on the side of the commentators.[10] Zakaria has been continuously raising her voice against white-feminism and racial privilege.[11]

Bibliography

  • The Upstairs Wife: An Intimate History of Pakistan. Boston: Beacon Press. 2016. ISBN 978-0807080467.
  • Veil (Object Lessons). London: Bloomsbury Academic. 2017. ISBN 978-1501322778.
  • Against White Feminism: Notes on Disruption. New York: W. W. Norton & Company. 2021. ISBN 978-1324006619.[lower-alpha 1]

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Notes
  1. Briefly reviewed in the October 4, 2021 issue of The New Yorker, p.67.

References
  1. "Rafia Zakaria's 'Against White Feminism' is 'not a scolding but an invitation'". Los Angeles Times. 2021-08-31. Retrieved 2021-10-08.
  2. "Rafia Zakaria". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 14 June 2022.
  3. "An Indies Introduce Debut Author Q&A with Rafia Zakaria". the American Booksellers Association. 2015-02-19. Retrieved 2021-10-08.
  4. "Rafia Zakaria: 'A lot of white female professors told me to quit'". The Guardian. 2021-08-28. Retrieved 2021-10-08.
  5. "Muslim Feminists Rewrite Boundaries On The Street And At Home". NPR.org. Retrieved 2021-10-08.
  6. "Renowned author Rafia Zakaria to speak at NU-Q". Gulf Times. Retrieved 2021-10-21.
  7. "'White feminists' are under attack from other women. There can only be one winner – men". The Guardian. Retrieved 2021-10-21.
  8. Khan, Mehreen (11 December 2021). "Against White Feminism by Rafia Zakaria — experience over empathy". Financial Times. Retrieved 14 June 2022.
  9. "Book Review: Critiquing White Supremacy — "Against White Feminism"". The Arts Fuse. Retrieved 2021-10-21.
  10. James Kanter (14 June 2022). "Against White Feminism: Europe Edition". EU Scream (Podcast). Publisher. Retrieved 14 June 2022.
  11. "Female liberation is need of Time: Rafia Zakaria". Today 24 News. 18 June 2022. Retrieved 23 April 2023.


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