This book is a clear example of why one should not choose a book based on its cover, or title. 

While the author titles her book “They have always spoken for ourselves”, she then proceeds to speak for other people, especially for muslim feminists- who, based on this book, one should not even consider “real” feminists.

Since page one, this book reeks of islamophobia, and while the author claims not to be Islamophobic, well: if you feel obliged to specify in your books that your purposes are not Islamophobic there’s a high chance they in fact are. Or at least, you should base your statement on something more solid than your own conviction.

Because not only the book is blatantly Islamophobic, it also lacks sources: except a thin one page at the end of the book with some sources listed, throughout the book sources are never mentioned, not even example: who are these muslim feminist who are all repressed, and repress other women? Do they exist? Or do they only exist in your scared mind?

Then, cherry on top, she whines about how feminism is now obsessed with decolonization, claiming white woman can’t say anything anymore: if this is what you think decolonization means than either you understood nothing about it, or you are just pretending you don’t to serve your extremist stance. Also, we need to stop pretending we need more than one feminism, feminism is a common cause, where everybody wants the same thing for every woman in the world, there is no place for discrimination in this perfect movement that is feminism (sarcasm intended). 

Let me say: I get some of the arguments, and that they come from a traumatic experience with religion. HOWEVER, the way these arguments are presented is just lazy.

I think it’s safe to say I HATED this book: it doesn’t develop any interesting ideas, no path for solution, and seeks excluding muslim women from the feminist movement while also framing them as either clueless naive victims or as oppressors, and it just provide absolutely no proof or research about the theme it wants to deal with. Just one word to describe it I guess: tragic