Today I am delighted to be in conversation with Rafia Zakaria, an American Muslim author, attorney, and political philosopher, to discuss her powerful book, Against White Feminism: Notes on Disruption. In this book, Rafia challenges white feminism’s global, long-standing affinity with colonial, patriarchal, and white supremacist ideals. 

Covering such ground as the legacy of the British feminist imperialist savior complex and "the colonial thesis that all reform comes from the West" to the condescension of the white feminist-led "aid industrial complex" and the conflation of sexual liberation as the "sum total of empowerment," Zakaria follows in the tradition of intersectional feminist forebears Kimberlé Crenshaw, Adrienne Rich, and Audre Lorde. Zakaria ultimately refutes and reimagines the apolitical aspirations of white feminist empowerment in this radical critique, with Black and Brown feminist thought at the forefront.

Rafia is a writer at the Baffler and Dawn magazine and a Fellow at the African American Policy Forum, an innovative think tank Co-Founded by Kimberle Crenshaw that connects academics, activists and policy-makers to promote efforts to dismantle structural inequality. 

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Highlights:

(03:09) Rafia’s journey to publishing this book

(12:34) What is white feminism? 

(22:03) Moving away from individualism towards collective action

(29:02) A Perspective Empowerment History and Collectivism Solidarity

(46:21) Technology & white supremacy

(52:20) Engineering our future: How feminists  inform politics

(56:36) Rahia’s dream for the feminist movement

Rafia Zakaria's Links:

Twitter:Rafia Zakaria @rafiazakaria

Instagram:@rafiazakariafeminist

LinkedIn:Rafia Zakaria

Links Mentioned:

Against White Feminism: Notes on Disruption by Rafia Zakaria

Unfocused Feminism: The battle lines go beyond the bedroom and the boardroom by Rafia Zakaria

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