Let Women Speak Free Your Face Event

[IwantToRetire]

We will all walk to Speakers' Corner at 2.00 and read out the testimonies of women who speak about the niqab. I have something visual planned so we can elevate the voices of women who exist in a fabric prison, often, of their familys construction.

On the day I will hand out copies of testimonies for women to read at the heart of Speakers' Corner. We need as many women as possible to attend. This is your chance to show you care.

From https://www.letwomenspeak.org/event-details/let-women-speak-london-free-your-face-2025-06-29-13-00

Had not heard about this, but now there are a number of responses to the event such as this one:

In Keen’s , Muslim women are portrayed as passive, voiceless, and trapped by family, culture, and male insecurity. The veil is a “fabric prison,” and the women behind it are posited as unable to speak, act, or even “feel sunlight on their skin” without male permission. Their desires, commitments, and beliefs are never considered on their own terms. Instead, they are rendered legible through the eyes, imagination and political desire of Kellie-Jay.

The few “testimonies” —attributed to women in the Middle East—were anonymous, unverified, and clearly cherry-picked. It’s hard to believe that Keen’s public pronouncements on “Islamism” elicit nothing but thank-yous and confessions of helplessness. Of course, as an activist and propagandist, she’s under no obligation to include
counterarguments or opposing views.These testimonies function as a moral shield, allowing Keen and Let Women Speak to deflect critique with the familiar refrain: “These aren’t my words…” Indeed, her X/Twitter feed is awash with anonymized grateful wards, caged in fabric. These women are cast as mute victims—unable to interpret or change their own lives—and, by implication, grateful and dependent on these liberated English roses to speak for them.

https://morbidsymptom.substack.com/p/veilface?

DM coverage https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-14858363/Moment-womens-rights-campaigners-Niqab-veil-free-face-London-protest.html

(Sorry if there is a thread about this already but couldn't find anything. If there is one please post link. Thanks.)

'Yes, it happens — even for an Afghan woman — that someone from afar expresses a willingness to listen to her. So, I choose to believe it and open my heart to you.'

KJK is doing something simple but it seems remarkable. How dare feminists talk of Islamophobia, they should be ashamed.

I agree. I hesitated to use the term (because frankly it isn’t white Muslims that have the most difficulties here), but it IS notable that Islam is particularly used as a shorthand for countries or cultures that are not representative of the religion but more of a toxic male dominance.

At the end of the 1970s, Iranian fundamentalists invented the term "Islamophobia" formed in analogy to "xenophobia". The aim of this word was to declare Islam inviolate. Whoever crosses this border is deemed a racist. This term, which is worthy of totalitarian propaganda, is deliberately unspecific about whether it refers to a religion, a belief system or its faithful adherents around the world.

https://newrepublic.com/article/81178/the-invention-islamophobia

I know these things. I meant what you personally meant by conservative. But it’s fine you seem to have a broad understanding of the lives of Muslim women from a variety of cultures. Tell me what did they tell you they felt about their lives?

Hirsi Ali says she can’t understand why she’s become the enemy:

“It has always struck me as odd that so many supposed liberals in the West take their side rather than mine … I am a black woman, a feminist and a former Muslim who has consistently opposed political violence”.

https://ethics.org.au/big-thinker-ayaan-hirsi-ali/

Do you really think that it's hard to be an atheist or non Christian in the UK?

The BBC have been terrible on this. They live in a bubble where they're completely unaffected by anything going on outside their dinner party circuit.

Rather than keep trying to throw something at me that will stick because you so want to catch me, why don’t you go work on your reasoning skills because, if you know these things as you claim, why is that you don’t connect the dots and are still so basic and biased in your opinions.

Go throw some questions at your beliefs, they’re the ones who needs help with logic and common sense

Imnobody4 thank you for posting that article.

This is the direct link to the Letters themselves:

The Taliban letters: one woman writes in freedom, the other in fear
The bestselling British author Kate Mosse shares her inspiring email exchange
with a brave female writer living under Afghanistan's brutal regime
https://www.thetimes.com/world/asia/article/letters-from-kabul-the-reality-of-life-as-a-woman-under-the-taliban-b0rdwbhz2

It reminded me of a campaign that KJK has been running since International Women's Day on March 8th 2025 and that some Mumsnetters might be interested in. The text on the International Women's Echo page is as it was before the launch on IWD:

International Women's Echo

We are excited to present the International Women's Echo. This straightforward system echos women’s across social platforms. By signing up, you’ll be paired with a woman from another part of the world who will share your voice with her network. You can follow her social media accounts and amplify her posts across your platforms, with the option to translate if you wish (using translation/grok type tools). In many instances, we’ll suggest that you both follow each other. Think of us as the matchmaker. Complete the form below, and we’ll connect you as soon as possible. Sign up now to be ready for our launch on International Women's Day.

Please note, we do not accept responsibility for the match and if it's not working out we recommend letting us know and we can request both accounts to stop interacting. We don't recommend sharing any personal details, but you're an adult and you can do what you like! We do not vet applicants and we will only share your usernames and geographical location. Which posts you choose to share is up to you, we recommend sticking to the topic that unites us.

https://www.letwomenspeak.org/iwe

@TomeTome ....but it IS notable that Islam is particularly used as a shorthand for countries or cultures that are not representative of the religion but more of a toxic male dominance.

The religion is being used/mis-used by toxic males to oppress women. We are naming the religion that is being mis-used.
Tbh it really won't make any difference what word we use, because 'phobia' will be added to the word to shut women down.

No sacred castes. Many of us aren’t afraid of being labelled or smeared to get us to shut up about men hurting women. It doesn’t work with “transphobia” or anything else.

This kind of activism is only going to make things worse. It should be strenuously resisted.

"Welcome to the Centre for Media Monitoring (CfMM), a little-scrutinised activist group seeking to skew the national conversation. CfMM is, or has recently been, part of the Muslim Council of Britain, with which successive governments have had a policy of non-engagement for its hardline views. But that has not stopped it from being listened to, welcomed or even employed at influential levels of the media."

"The headscarf for women is “normative” and a Muslim writer “misrepresent[ed] Muslim behaviour and belief” when she said there was “no basis in Islam for the niqab”, the full-face veil. The late Andrew Norfolk, of this newspaper, who did more than anyone to expose the grooming scandal, “scapegoated” Muslims."

www.thetimes.com/article/8e73ebea-e40e-43b3-88ca-636380ae084a?shareToken=0a54f44345f73b3b7b0f71b4320b0660

Reminiscent of “Trans Media Watch” @Imnobody4

When people start to smear and make labels it's a sign that something is being deflected from.

I get it. You want me to feel I can’t have a different opinion because my thinking isn’t up to scratch.

Opening your mind and discussing things will not hurt your thinking and may help you fight the battle you feel is needed more effectively.

If you actually live and talk to people who have different ideas of acceptable behaviour you don’t lose anything. For example there are women, and in all likelihood the majority of those posting here today, who would not dream of showing any leg hair. They have shave, waxed or covered their hairy legs for decades. This is the cultural norm here in the uk.

Are they oppressed and victims of their male dominated culture?

I’d say, yes, but in no way as impacted as girls who’s culture removes them from formal education at puberty, or forces them to marry, or stops them driving, or speaking or doing very much without adult supervision.

Post pandemic many of us have experienced being out and about “masked”. Did we lose agency? I’m not sure I felt I did. So I’m not sure the veil IS the issue. I’m not convinced it’s the religion, because we all know (I assume) there are Muslims who do not cover, and we know there are Muslims who do who are living happy fulfilling lives. So let’s talk about what IS the problem. Not dress it up concern about bits of material.

Post pandemic many of us have experienced being out and about “masked”. Did we lose agency? I’m not sure I felt I did. So I’m not sure the veil IS the issue. I’m not convinced it’s the religion, because we all know (I assume) there are Muslims who do not cover, and we know there are Muslims who do who are living happy fulfilling lives. So let’s talk about what IS the problem. Not dress it up concern about bits of material.

Yes, we lost agency. We lost important means of interacting with each other, and it affected society greatly.

But anyway, there are several fundamental differences between wearing a facemask to stop disease transmission and wearing a veil. On this board and thread, the relevant one is: only women wear veils.

What is it you're trying to imply is the problem? I'm not really following the logic. Is it race? Islam is a religion, not a race. Veiling affects Muslim women all over the world. Is that really what you're getting at? That criticism or questioning of Islam is racist?

To summarise your post @TomeTome

Because you didn't feel you were losing agency by wearing a mask, wearing a veil is not an issue.
Because we know one happy Muslim on either side, it doesn't exist.
And it's just a bit of material after all.

Impressive.

edited for word change

TomeTome
Have you read any of the messages yet. I'd love to discuss them with you.

No I think the problem is with particular cultures/countries use of religion. What do you think? I think when the focus is on”Islam” it attracts a lot of racist and islamaphobic posters but the issue isn’t the religion it’s how that religion is used to control women and their opportunities.

Actually it's about how religious authorities interpret Islam i.e. those with power to do so and power to implement laws.
Please avoid the weasel words Islamophobia, rascist and fascist if you want a discussion.

The problems with Islam are not limited to the control of women and their opportunities.

Airport security around the world changed over night after the Twin Towers terrorist attack. "Islamophobic" security the world continues to use to keep people alive.

It's not a phobia. It's entirely rational.

I'm not an expert, but there certainly seems to be a pattern. In many Islamic countries, governments have become more hardline. Perhaps certain sects are becoming more powerful/prominent, the Wahhabi sect from Saudi Arabia wields a lot of influence, for example.

This article comments on Muslims in the UK, but noticeably, although it is fairly wide ranging, it doesn't even touch on or mention the situation of women.

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/apr/13/the-identity-politics-of-many-muslims-and-critics-of-islam-are-deeply-corrosive

I'm not sure who made this video, but it illustrates how dress has changed for women throughout the Muslim world, some of it very recent.

Women in the seventies in Iran, Afghanistan, had more freedom than they do now. And of course, dress is just one, more visible aspect. Women being controlled affects women in Afghanistan etc in far more ways than the burkha, but it's a very striking illustration.

This is a summary of the the American security changes, which is replicated around the world in target countries.

http://www.phl.org/newsroom/911-security-impact

I imagine if you were very young then you wouldn't know that this global protection from Islamic terrorism exists for that reason.

It’s about how SOME men use religion to control women. I’m sure we’ve all watched the situation with Christianity in the US.
I’m not going to allow you to police my language @Imnobody4 but I take on board that you are finding my terminology weighted and it’s making it hard for you to interact. In the same spirit can I suggest that “weasel words” is unhelpful

Are the racist and islamophobic posters in the room with us now? Or do they go to a different school forum?