Today on the podcast I’m talking to Aaisha Dadi Patel.

Aaisha holds an MA in media studies from Wits, where she also lectures part-time. She began her career as a journalist at just twenty years old with the Daily Vox, and has made a mark on the South African media landscape covering everything from politics to polar bears. She is currently on the Wall Street Journal’s Africa desk, covering current affairs and economics updates from the continent.

Her piece in Living While Feminist is called – Feminism Is Muslim Women Talking Back –In that piece she says:

“In any intersectional context, the main thing to remember is that your struggles certainly do not have to be validated. Your anger is justified. You have the right to speak up for yourself against your own oppression, and voice your opinion on your own struggle, just as you are allowed to be an ally in another struggled. You are the one responsible for controlling your own narrative."

The piece explores how western feminism and islamophobia have contributed to the silencing of muslim women and muslim feminists, and the ways in which muslim feminists have challenged these two world views.

Since the collection came out in 2018 Aaisha has continued to challenge stereotypes and to tell stories about economic equality and current affairs. Listen to the episode to find out more about how she does it.