The Othered Woman : How White Feminism Harms Muslim Women

Author: Ezaydi, Shahed

Islam

Published on 20 March 2026 by PLUTO PRESS in the United Kingdom.

'An urgent, vital contribution to the feminist conversation – one that tears through the comfortable myth of universal sisterhood' – Alya Mooro, author of The Greater FreedomGrowing up, journalist Shahed Ezaydi was often asked how she could call herself a feminist and still practise her faith. It’s a question that reveals a deeper issue that Muslim women often face: being ignored in feminist spaces entirely, or cast as passive victims in need of being saved. This mindset fuels gendered Islamophobia and a narrow white feminism. But Muslim women don’t need rescuing.

The Othered Woman is the book Ezaydi wishes her younger self could have turned to. It challenges the myths of how Muslim women are oppressed and who by, and shows that these myths translate into very real harm both in Britain and around the world, showcasing the voices of intersectional feminists who are fighting for liberation on their own terms. Accessible and compelling, this is urgent reading for anyone who considers themselves a feminist.