School celebrated a Muslim LGBT activist on International Women’s day!

[Threemangoes]

AIBU to be annoyed at the school? I’m baffled as why have the school missed an opportunity here. They already celebrate lgbt history month and then pride in June at school.

Why is this issue that affects a very tiny minority is so heavily influenced in children’s curriculum?

Considering what Muslim women are going through in Iran snd Afghanistan, the school was spot on, and it will be even harder for a lesbian in those countries so the school did a good thing. They are done of the most oppressed snd vulnerable women in the world snd need support. That activist is extremely brave and should be celebrated

IWD is about women. Yesterday's was specifically about Embrace Equity.

Personally I think a Muslim lesbian woman is an excellent choice of speaker for this theme.

Being gay isn't like Christmas and birthdays. They don't get to be happy about it just twice a year. Honestly get a grip.

You are aware that non-white people can also be racist.

Yes you’re wrong. 90% of the UK population identities as heterosexual. So it’s more 10% than 1%.

However you’re right that it is a lower % if you’re also Muslim. But that’s the exact reason why they chose her to speak: Specifically because how hard it is to be Muslim and gay leads to people hiding their sexuality and living a lie.

The Guardian have an article about a poll that shows over half of all British Muslims think that being gay should be illegal. Illegal.

A Muslim woman standing up in a religion where men have so much power, where over half of those in her own faith feel so strongly against her?… I think this woman sounds very brave and a good role model for IWD.

OP - did they focus heavily on her being a lesbian during IWD?

@SBHon you are drawing an incorrect conclusion to reach 10%.The op is far nearer with 1%.

”The census question on sexual orientation was a voluntary question asked of those aged 16 years and over.

• In total, 44.9 million people (92.5% of the population aged 16 years and over) answered the question.
• Around 43.4 million people (89.4%) identified as straight or heterosexual.
• Around 1.5 million people (3.2%) identified with an LGB+ orientation (“Gay or Lesbian”, “Bisexual” or “Other sexual orientation”).
• The remaining 3.6 million people (7.5%) did not answer the question.”

“In total:

• 43.4 million people (89.4% of the population aged 16 years and over) identified as straight or heterosexual
• 748,000 (1.5%), described themselves as gay or lesbian
• 624,000 (1.3%) described themselves as bisexual
• 165,000 (0.3%) selected “Other sexual orientation”

OP you are definitely not being unreasonable. Not only is a lesbian Muslim an oxymoron, unless she certainly doesn't take her religion seriously, it dampens other Muslim women who fight hard for women in their community. Such as Muslim women who advocate for women Talibanic Afghanistan. Or Malala Yousafzai who fought for women to get an education.

But no. Our children our forcefed LGBT propaganda - and I say this as someone who fought hard in my country for gays and lesbians to have the right to marry. Even people like me are getting fed up with this hyper-fixated obsession with sex and identity. The fact you said they focused mainly on her sexuality says everything. It's all about her sexual preference. Nothing else is of worth for a woman. It's deeply insulting, misogynistic and pathetic. And on IWD of all days. It shows how little they actually value women.

A Muslim woman standing up in a religion where men have so much power, where over half of those in her own faith feel so strongly against her?… I think this woman sounds very brave and a good role model for IWD.

This.

Linning · Today 00:49
Young primary school children are not a vehicle to be used for all those issues in your long post in my opinion.

Those are for adults and older teens.

JhsLs · Today 01:04
3 instances of diversity is hardly ‘so heavily influenced’ in the curriculum when it’s 193 days long per academic year. It’s a minute proportion of what is being learned, studied or focused on.

It is 3 instances of the same diversity umbrella.

There are 9 protected characteristics. Do they have days for each?

WomanStanleyWoman2 · Today 01:09

^ScrollingLeaves · Today 01:02
.*The gay kids have a few days in school. It won't kill the straight kids to hear about it and it might help the gay ones.+^

This is a primary school. The children aren’t gay or straight

I can’t decide if this is just startlingly naive or plain old offensive - or a bit of both.

I find your attitude to primary school children not offensive exactly, but very misplaced imo. I find what you said to me offensive too.

They have years for their sexuality to emerge.

They will already be taught in an age appropriate way that people of the same sex may love each other - that is if they are told what being a sex is. And they will be told everyone has are different sorts of families.

Haah!
Correct, this just sums it all up.

They desperately want to believe I'm a homophobic racist white Karen.

@ScrollingLeaves They have years for their sexuality to emerge.
Perfectly normal to know whether you fancy boys or girls when you're in primary school..
I did.

So WTF is your problem?

Do you actually believe that an LGBT activist can ONLY be celebrated on designated days, as if she doesn't properly belong to the category "woman"?

Sounds like you want minorities to crawl back into their box.
Also that you have a problem with her religion, even though it's shared by about 1.7 billion other people ...

Oh right. "I'm not racist but ... I am homophobic".

Let me explain this to you in terms even a self-confessed non-idiot can understand.

She is being celebrated for being A WOMAN, not for being LBGT.

I think international women's day was a focus on women - it was one day, not a month. LBGT issues seem to be focused on at every opportunity. I am not saying that they should be ignored but is almost as if that agenda has to be included when yesterday there was no need to highlight it.

She is being celebrated for being A WOMAN, not for being LBGT.
Exactly

The OP said the focus was on her SEXUALITY. Not the fact she is a woman or had achieved anything. Once again, it's all about sexuality. So misogynistic.

Except she WASN'T. She was celebrated for, and the FOCUS was on, her sexuality. If the focus was on her achievements, it wouldn't be as much an issue.

I'd have thought being an openly gay Muslim was something worth highlighting on International Women's Day?
When people can be actively discriminated against/punished for that

@TaunterOfWomenInGeneralSaysSayonarastu the op was hoping on IWD a Muslim woman could focus on issues impacting many if not all Muslim women, including lesbian Muslim women. Wanting to focus on FGM, access to education, forced marriage etc. on IWD rather than sexuality is not unreasonable and does not make someone homophobic.

I understand what you're pov is OP.

I think you're right why could the the person picked be a woman who has been an 'activist' in breaking the patriarchy. Why can the issue to be highlighted be how women (girls in primary school) should learn to value their worth, teach them that financial independence is key and so on.

the op was hoping on IWD a Muslim woman could focus on issues impacting many if not all Muslim women
Well that's a complete rewrite of the OP's opening comment, as that sounds like they had a problem with the fact she is LGBT and Muslim.

They desperately want to believe I'm a homophobic racist white Karen.

Nah, I don't care what your own characteristics are in this context. Your disembodied words alone are enough to show you up. Stop worrying about other people & have faith and courage in your opinions - you're allowed to have and express them! - but don't use people disagreeing with you as some kind of proof you're right, or grist for your angry little mill.

@CremeEggQueen so Muslim women are not actively discriminated against/ punished for a) being women b) being Muslim only for being lesbians.

Just a homophobe then.

I'm a black, bisexual woman. Would you have a problem if I was chosen to be celebrated on IWD? What if I was also religious? Should I be excluded? You sound very short sited and one track minded OP.