Week 7 - Change is a-coming...

Jumping back into the organising fray, and reorganising my life...

Oh la la, it’s been a wild fortnight. You may have noticed that last week’s edition of this newsletter didn’t arrive in your inbox… apologies. I had planned to write it on the train, as I moved from London to Paris. But indeed, it was another one of those moments when I expected a little too much of myself.

But let’s back up a little, shall we?

If you follow me on any social media, you will have noticed the project of the last two weeks has been the open letter to the BBC regarding Woman’s Hour and the broader representation of Muslim women in staff and programming at the public broadcaster. I briefly mentioned it in the last newsletter, and many of you were kind enough to sign.

The letter, written by Mariam Khan and I (with the support of folk behind the scenes) was published in the Guardian on Wednesday. It made the front cover of the paper on Thursday, received a reply from the Director General of the BBC on Friday and catalysed a national conversation across the country that continued throughout the weekend. Not bad for a harebrained idea on a Sunday night, ay?

Front page of Thursday’s Guardian, with our open letter the photo story.

It feels surreal to have been part of something that has shaped the news narrative around Muslim women in Britain in a way that is - at the very least initially - on our own terms. It’s also been a while since I’ve engaged with the media deliberately, given my general disdain and distrust in them (!). However, part of what made this powerful was that it wasn’t about me, or Mariam, or Secretary General Zara Mohammed. It was about Muslim women more broadly, and was supported by a collective of over 200 people, over 100 of whom are public figures, including MPs, pop stars, writers, activists. We’ve since opened the letter for signing again and have received almost 1000 signatures, subhanallah.

There is something so powerful about being part of a collective force, an energy that I’ve missed. It is of course, not easy to get right - you have to make sure you are on the same page, have visions that are aligned, and are willing to put in the work. It is also somewhat easier to build a collective against something rather than for something else. However, moments like these can lay the foundation for longer term movements. I don’t know what that looks like yet… or if that is even what I want (there’s been a bit of scope creep since the initial conversation with Mariam where we both decided we wanted to ‘do something!’). However, it does feel exciting. And it also feels like we drew a line in the sand, made folks feel seen and heard, made it clear that Muslim women are a force to be reckoned with. Whatever happens next, inshallah, that’s something I am proud of. More on this in the future, I think…

Of course, the complicating factor has been that I have been moving house - and country - at the same time as helping organise this letter! Last weekend, I packed up the flat that I’ve lived in and loved for the last 3+ years, and lugged a number of overfull suitcases onto the Eurostar. I’m now in Paris, in preparation for my Writer’s Residency. Folks, it’s been intense! Aside from the fact that I wasn’t sure if they would let me in because technically the borders are closed (I got a special visa, *phew!*), I’ve never moved to a country where I don’t speak the language, without family or many friends to help cushion my landing and all in a global pandemic! I’m overwhelmed, nervous, excited, and frankly, deeply discomforted.

It’s okay though, as it’s the good kind of discomfort. It’s that feeling of uncertainty and apprehension that comes over you when you’re at the beginning of a grand new adventure and you have no idea what’s on the other side (think, early chapters of The Hobbit). There’s some sensory overload in the mix as well. Going from having only seeing one or two people at a time for months on end to a whole new buzzing city (the Parisians don’t seem to be in lockdown?) has been a shock to the system.

I’ve struck by the small differences: the way the bureaucracy operates (needing residency papers to get a monthly metro ticket), the differing levels of public police presence (the cops here are armed!), the way buildings are designed (I have yet to use a lift, it’s all stairs, everywhere). I’m also fascinated by changes internally: the shyness that arrives with a lack of vocabulary, oscillating between demure and intimidating to hide not being able to articulate myself, the tightness in my chest as I try to rehearse sentences in my mind before I approach the cashier. I can’t wait until I can start to understand what is happening around me, until these streets begin to feel familiar, until growth makes itself unknown… inshallah.

But, I’m here! I made it! And a new adventure begins. Khair inshallah. May Allah bless this chapter, and all chapters of all our lives, inshallah.

After all, given the year we’ve just had, who knows what this year has in store?!

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What I’m reading this week: if you haven’t read my friend Sara’s award winning poem, you must. I also just finished ‘The Palace of Flowers’, a historical fiction novel on two Abyssinian slaves in 1900’s Iran. It was beautiful, but quite devastating. I’m planning to dig (very slowly) into some French literature this week…

What I’m watching this week: I’ve been going through this list of French shows. Le Chalet was fantastic, The Returning was suuuper strange and Spiral was a little too old school for me. It felt like there were a dozen sexist comments or jokes in the first half hour, so I turned it off. I’m now a few episodes deep into The Forest, and it’s not bad so far. Reminds me of Broadchurch, in a few ways.

What I’m listening to this week: I’ve really been enjoying the podcast ‘You’re Wrong About’. It’s got a strange style that takes some getting used to, but I do like the curiosity driven aspect to it. The Diana series was pretty great too, I thought. Also, this is a fascinating podcast about the corruption in the Spanish Monarchy… and why the British Monarchs are worried about what’s happening in mainland Europe.

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Thanks for subscribing and reading this week’s edition of Diasporan Diaries. Please, comment with thoughts, questions, critiques…and share if it resonated.

Much love, strength and safety to you all.

Best,

Yassmin