When I apply to part-time jobs, I am thankful that my name does not sound particularly Arabic or Islamic so as to not face discrimination before I even meet my potential employer. Nevertheless, Canada, a country built on immigration, is both my country and my home. Unfortunately, however, my race, gender, and religious affinity, which form to create my identity, are increasing and exacerbating my experiences with systemic racism, and are even leading to fuelled surveillance. In reality, my religious identity is both racialized and sexualized, because I am an Arab woman, but also because my hijab visibly illustrates that I have not “assimilated” to Western society’s …show more content…
Because I am heterosexual, which is natural in Western society, I am entrenched with institutionalized values and beliefs that are oppressive to people in the queer community, who are then ostracised because they are labelled as “different” and “other.” I myself am also regarded this way, but in a different context. Thus, in order to become agents of change, we, as feminists, must address society’s structural problems by addressing power relations and our “common context of struggle” (Mohanty 7). Indeed, only under the guise of intersectionality can feminism hope to make a